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THE 


NEXT   GREAT   AWAKENING 


Vy  JOSIAH  ST*ROJVG 

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The  Next 
Great  Awakening 


BY 


JOSIAH   STRONG 

Author  of  "  Our  Country,"  "The  New  Era,"  "The 

Twentieth    Century    City"    "Expansion" 

and  "  The  Times  an  J  Young  Men  " 


"  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord 
Make  His  paths  straight" 

— Johk  thk  Baptist 


NEW  YORK 

THE    BAKER   &   TAYLOR   COMPANY 
33-37  East  Seventeenth  Street 

Union  Square  North 


Copyright,  190* 

BY 

THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  CO. 


New  York 

Kay  Printing  House 

66-68  Cbntrb  St. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The  Supreme  Need  of  the  World 13 

The  supreme  need  of  the  world  is  a  real  God. 
Consciousness  of  this  need  the  beginning  of  re- 
ligion. The  danger  that  religious  forms  will  de- 
generate into  fossils.  The  expression  of  religious 
life  must  change  as  conditions  change.  The  great- 
er the  progress  of  civilization,  the  greater  the  need 
of  a  new  apprehension  of  God. 

Prophets  are  men  who  see  God  in  relation  to 
their  own  times,  which  makes  him  real.  Sub- 
stance of  the  prophetic  message  remains  the  same, 
as  God  is  the  same ;  its  form  changes  as  the  times 
change. 

Peculiarly  difficult  for  this  generation  to  appre- 
hend God,  for  three  reasons : 

1.  A  materialistic  civilization  to  which  spirit- 
ual truths  are  dim. 

2.  The  scientific  habit  of  mind,  which  is  hostile 
to  dogma. 

3.  The  rapid  growth  of  natural  science,  which 
has  established  the  universal  reign  of  law,  and 
finds  in  nature  no  Personal  Will. 

These  three  causes  of  unbelief  may  each  be 
transformed  into  a  handmaid  of  religion  by  inter- 
preting God  in  the  terms  of  present-day  knowl- 
edge, and  by  presenting  him  in  vital  relations  to 
our  own  times. 

II 

The  Law  of  Spiritual  Quickening 30 

Reason  why  moral  and  spiritual  growth  usual- 
ly shows  a  series  of  changes  more  or  less  cata- 
clysmal. 

3 


CONTENTS 

Advent  of  the  new  century  a  fitting  time  for  a 
new  spiritual  awakening.  Special  meetings  in 
Great  Britain  and  United  States.  Absence  of 
results.  The  great  historical  awakenings  did  not 
come  uncaused.  Must  comply  with  their  law. 
Law  revealed  by  their  study. 

The  sixteenth  century.  The  German  Reforma- 
tion. Peculiar  conditions  which  made  Justification 
by  Faith  the  truth  peculiarly  needed.  Awaken- 
ing came  when  this  forgotten  truth  was  faithfully 
preached. 

The  seventeenth  century.  The  Puritan  revival. 
Peculiar  conditions  which  made  The  Divine  Sov- 
ereignty the  truth  peculiarly  needed.  Conscience 
was  quickened  when  this  neglected  truth  was 
applied. 

The  eighteenth  century.  The  Wesleyan  revival. 
Conditions  which  demanded  certain  spiritual 
truths.  Isaac  Taylor  and  Blackstone  quoted. 
Wesley's  spiritual  experience.  Preaching  "a  for- 
gotten gospel." 

First  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Teaching 
and  work  of  Charles  G.  Finney.  Conditions  which 
demanded  his  message.  Man's  free  agency  and 
guilt.    Effects  of  preaching  these  forgotten  truths. 

Last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Peculiar 
conditions  which  called  for  the  message  of  Dwight 
L.  Moody.  Profound  changes  had  attended  the 
industrial  revolution.  Change  in  the  nervous  or- 
ganization. The  "terrors  of  the  Lord"  had  ceased 
to  persuade.  The  Civil  War.  The  neglected  truth 
that  God  is  love. 

No  one  of  these  prophets  simply  repeated  the 
message  of  his  predecessor.  Each  emphasized  a 
neglected  truth  precisely  adapted  to  the  times, 
which  made  God  real  to  his  generation. 

The  next  great  awakening  will  come  when  for- 
gotten Scriptural  truths,  precisely  adapted  to  our 
own  times,  are  faithfully  preached. 

New  social  conditions.  Social  problems  to  be 
solved  by  the  forgotten  social  teachings  of  Jesus. 


CONTENTS 
HI 

PAGE 

The  Kingdom  of  God 51 

The  Social  Ideal  of  Jesus. 

The  "rediscovery  of  Christ."  His  point  of  view. 
His  great  theme,  beginning,  middle  and  end,  was 
The  Kingdom  of  God. 

To  misunderstand  the  kingdom  of  God  is  to 
misunderstand  the  message  of  Jesus,  the  nature 
of  Christianity,  the  mission  of  the  church.  The 
doctrine  of  the  kingdom  commonly  misunderstood 
for  centuries. 

The  new  Christian  renaissance,  and  what  is 
involved  in  it. 

Many  have  supposed  the  kingdom  of  God  was 
identical  with  heaven.    Results  of  this  view. 

Others  have  identified  the  kingdom  with  the 
visible  church.     Results  of  this  misconception. 

Another  common  error  is  to  identify  the  king- 
dom with  the  invisible  church.  Results  of  this 
error. 

A  measure  of  truth  in  each  conception.  The 
kingdom  of  God  broader  than  all  of  them. 

The  common  conception  of  the  kingdom  in  the 
time  of  Jesus.  The  origin  of  the  idea.  Its  devel- 
opment by  the  Hebrew  prophets. 

Jesus  meant  by  the  kingdom  of  God  an  Ideal 
World.    The  kingdom  was  his  social  ideal. 

IV 

The  Kingdom  of  God — {Continued) 75 

Its  Extent  and  Its  Content. 

Confusion  for  lack  of  distinguishing  between 
the  extent  and  the  content  of  the  kingdom. 

Extent  and  content  of  the  kingdom  defined. 
Van  Oosterzee,  Bascom,  Westcott,  and  Peabody 
quoted. 

5 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Of  the  spiritual  and  physical  elements  of  the 
kingdom,  the  former  is  incomparably  the  more 
important,  but  I  shall  dwell  more  on  the  latter 
because  almost  wholly  neglected. 

Jesus  always  recognized  the  physical  element. 
Jesus  insisted  on  the  spiritual — the  transformed 
character,  not  in  order  to  win  heaven,  but  in  order 
to  win  the  world.  The  common  conception  of 
religion  entirely  foreign  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus. 

"Thy  will  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven." 
How  much  is  implied  by  perfect  obedience  to 
God's  will?  Increasing  knowledge  of  his  will. 
The  revelations  of  science.  F.  Herbert  Stead 
quoted. 


The  Kingdom  of  God — (Continued) 92 

Corollaries  of  the  True  Doctrine. 

1.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  the  synthesis  of  the 
spiritual  and  the  physical.  Disputes  over  hemi- 
spheres of  truth.  The  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom 
puts  the  two  together.  Mistake  of  the  church  in 
ignoring  the  physical.  Consequences.  True  place 
of  the  physical  in  Christian  work.  Illustrations 
from  "Hell's  Kitchen"  and  the  Elmira  Reforma- 
tory. Mistake  of  the  social  settlement  in  ignor- 
ing the  spiritual.     Surreptitious  Christianity. 

2.  The  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  points 
out  the  relations  of  God  to  natural  law. 

Three  conceptions.  Will  without  law — the 
ancient  half  truth.  Law  without  will — the  scien- 
tific half  truth.  Will  through  law — the  whole 
truth. 

Results  of  this  view.  It  recognizes  God  in  his- 
tory.    It  makes  him  real  in  nature  and  events. 

3.  The  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  reveals 
the  sacredness  of  the  "secular."  The  old  and  false 
conception  disproved  by  Jesus'  idea  of  the  king- 
dom. No  room  for  the  "secular"  in  an  ideal 
world. 

6 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

4.  The  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  makes 
obvious  the  true  mission  of  the  church. 

The  church  organized  to  carry  on  the  work 
which  her  Master  began.  The  church  a  means  to 
the  kingdom  as  an  end.  Her  mission  to  make  an 
ideal  world  actual.  This  involved  a  change  of 
aims  and  methods.  Results  which  will  follow  her 
acceptance  of  her  true  mission. 

5.  The  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  affords 
the  greatest  possible  inspiration. 

It  gives  the  inspiration  of  the  widest  possible 
outlook,  for  the  kingdom  is  the  outcome  of  all 
activity,  the  goal  of  all  progress. 

It  gives  the  inspiration  of  a  glorious  ideal  and 
a  firm  confidence  that  it  will  be  realized,  which 
affords  patience  and  courage. 

It  gives  the  inspiration  of  the  noblest  fellow- 
ship. Our  aim  identifies  us  with  the  great  souls 
of  every  age  and  with  God  himself. 

VI 
The  Social  Laws  of  Jesus 119 

Jesus  laid  hold  of  three  fundamental  principles, 
and  promulgated  them  as  the  fundamental  laws  of 
the  kingdom. 

I.  The  law  of  service.  Service  in  nature  and 
in  society.  Jesus  afforded  the  supreme  example  of 
service.  The  servant  is  not  above  his  lord.  He 
deemed  service  a  privilege,  and  made  it  the  badge 
of  distinction. 

Commercial  service  and  Christian  service.  In 
commerce  the  act  or  the  article  is  the  essential 
thing;  Jesus  fixes  attention  on  the  motive.  The 
commercial  law  is  Supply  and  Demand ;  the  Chris- 
tian law  is  Need  and  Service.  The  commercial 
spirit  gives  in  order  to  receive;  the  Christian 
spirit  receives  in  order  to  give. 

The  spirit  of  service  and  the  law  of  steward- 
ship. 

7 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

2.  The  law  of  sacrifice.  Includes  the  entire 
man.  Meaning  of  the  "cross"  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  giving  of  self  and  of  substance.  Sac- 
rifice and  stewardship. 

Sacrifice  in  harmony  with  the  universe.  The 
divine  order  reveals  an  endless  chain  of  receiving 
and  giving.  The  man  who  refuses  to  give  himself 
breaks  the  chain.     Benevolence  of  the  law. 

The  law  includes  all  men.  Not  the  same  gift, 
but  the  same  sacrifice  is  required  of  all.  "All  that 
he  hath."  This  law  the  noblest  tribute  ever  paid 
to  human  nature. 

3.  The  law  of  love.  Christian  love  is  disinter- 
ested. Such  love  is  eternal  life.  Not  evolved  but 
transmitted.  "Born  from  above."  This  new  life 
(love)  lifts  men  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
makes  obedience  to  its  laws  of  disinterested  ser- 
vice and  sacrifice  possible. 

The  greater  the  gift,  the  greater  the  blessedness. 
Love  loves  a  hard  task.    Nathan  Hale  quoted. 

The  true  glory  of  God.  Jesus'  conception  of 
glory.  Self-giving  the  highest  glory  of  God,  be- 
cause it  is  the  most  perfect  manifestation  of  love. 
The  Archbishop  of  Paris. 

The  old  law  of  love,  and  the  new  law  of  love. 
"As  I  have  loved  you." 

The  identifying  power  of  love.  It  is  therefore 
the  great  integrating  power — the  supreme  social 
law. 

VII 

The  Social  Teachings  of  Jesus  Not  Accepted 152 

Archbishop  Magee  on  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  The  social  teachings  of  Jesus  "impracti- 
cable" or  "inapplicable."  By  what  authority  are 
the  social  laws  of  Jesus  suspended? 

The    literal    application    of    Christ's    teachings. 
Jesus  an  Oriental  speaking  to  Orientals.     Differ- 
ence in  use  of  language  and  in  customs.    Washing 
his  disciples'  feet.     The  principles  he  laid  down 
8 


CONTENTS 

universally  and  eternally  binding.  His  application 
of  them  may  have  been  temporarily  and  locally 
binding.  When  we  have  grasped  his  principles 
then  there  must  be  implicit  and  literal  obedience. 

The  three  laws,  discussed  in  preceding  chapter, 
not  rules,  but  principles.  These  laws  applied  to 
our  industrial  system.  That  system  not  inspired 
by  the  spirit  of  service.  The  motive  of  trusts; 
of  yellow  journalism;  of  the  drink  traffic;  of 
speculation.     What  is  the  motive  of  competition? 

The  business  world  compared  with  the  profes- 
sional world.     Different  standards. 

Suppose  Jesus  Christ  were  placed  in  charge  of 
some  business;  what  would  happen? 

Employers  no  more  selfish  than  others.  The 
general  public  responsible  for  the  existing  sys- 
tem. An  anti-bargain  brotherhood.  Emerson 
quoted. 

No  evidence  that  in  business  the  professed  dis- 
ciples of  Christ  are  generally  actuated  by  motives 
different  from  those  of  the  business  world. 

Are  professing  Christians  generally  governed 
by  the  social  laws  of  Jesus  in  the  administration 
of  property?  Evidence  that  the  duty  of  steward- 
ship is  not  commonly  accepted.  Mark  Hopkins 
quoted.  Giving  and  living  like  princes.  Excuse 
given  for  indulging  in  luxury.    Its  fallacy. 

Failure  of  the  pulpit  to  teach  the  social  laws 
of  Jesus.  Failure  to  inculcate  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  concerning  riches.  Service,  sacrifice,  and 
love  have  been  taught,  but  not  as  social  laws. 
Hence  perversion  of  the  truth,  self-deception,  and 
worldliness.  Misconception  of  the  character  of 
God.    "Good  and  regular  standing"  in  the  church. 

No  sympathy  with  hostile  critics  of  the  church. 
The  creation  of  an  ideal  world  not  the  conscious 
aim  of  the  average  church.  The  social  laws  of 
Jesus  not  inculcated  in  the  average  pulpit. 

Only  one-half  of  the  gospel  preached.  Has 
Christianity  really  been  tried? 


CONTENTS 
VIII 

PAGE 

The  Social  Teachings  of  Jesus  Applied  will 
Bring  Social  Healing 188 

New  social  spirit  needed.  Error  of  many  re- 
formers. 

Two  essentials  of  healthy  growth.  Actual  life 
and  favorable  conditions.  Growth  in  the  vegetable 
world. 

Ideal  society  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  life. 
Herbert  Spencer  quoted.  The  social  ideal  of  Jesus. 
Social  consciousness  brings  a  social  conscience. 

The  German  Reformation.  "Rights"  of  the 
individual  then  emphasized.  "Duties"  the  watch- 
word of  reform. 

To-day's  social  questions  ethical.  The  distribu- 
tion of  property.  Some  burning  social  questions. 
Property  involved  in  all  of  them. 

Root  evil  selfishness.  Selfish  use  of  property. 
The  remedy  Christian  stewardship.  Strikes  and 
lockouts. 

Popular  discontent.  Higher  wages  needed,  but 
will  fail  without  spirit  of  service.  Homestead. 
A  Connecticut  pastor.  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright 
quoted.  Leclaire.  Employers  who  endeavor  to 
express  the  spirit  of  service. 

IX 

The  Social  Teachings  of  Jesus  Applied  will 
Bring  Spiritual  Quickening 212 

The  church  conserves  the  past  but  fails  to  mold 
the  future.  Consequent  meager  growth.  Aliena- 
tion of  working  men. 

Great  awakening  sorely  needed.  May  be  ex- 
pected when  intelligently  sought. 

Summary  of  preceding  chapters.  Supreme  need 
of  the  world,  a  real  God. 

Great  awakenings  in  the  past  came  when  neg- 
lected Scriptural  truths  were  faithfully  preached. 


CONTENTS 

Social  teachings  of  Jesus  very  generally  misap- 
prehended. The  kingdom  of  God  commonly  mis- 
understood. An  ideal  world.  This  conception  of 
the  kingdom  fits  the  times.    Prevalent  materialism. 

Scientific  habit  of  mind  cleared  the  way  for  the 
doctrine  of  the  kingdom.  Elimination  of  personal 
will  by  scientific  conception  of  natural  law.  Laws 
of  nature  the  expression  of  God's  will. 

An  imaginary  equator.  The  secular  that  side 
where  most  people  live.    This  line  wiped  out. 

True  mission  of  the  church.  Physical  needs  of 
humanity.  The  Good  Samaritan.  Outside  agen- 
cies the  Samaritans  to-day.  Lower  nature  reached 
through  the  higher.  The  great  opportunity  of 
the  church. 

Religious  organizations  which  reach  the  masses. 
Methods  in  common.  Miami  Association  of  Ohio. 
"Institutional  churches."    Thorold  Rogers  quoted. 

Social  doctrine  after  the  French  Revolution. 
In  Germany.  The  "Inner  Mission"  the  salvation 
of  Germany. 

Church  with  enthusiasm  for  humanity.  Trans- 
formation would  follow.  Such  a  church  ought  not 
to  be  peculiar. 

Ministers  should  give  disinterested  service. 
Aglow  with  love  to  God  and  man,  neglected  truths 
would  be  preached  with  mighty  power.  The 
worldly  man  sees  no  essential  difference  between 
Christians  and  himself.  A  life  of  service  and 
sacrifice  would  show  a  radical  difference. 

The  time  come  to  apply  to  existing  conditions 
the  social  teachings  of  Jesus. 

The  "tree  of  decision."  Lady  Henry  Somerset. 
"Live  as  though  I  were,  and  you  shall  know  that  I 
am."    God  becomes  real. 


II 


THE 

NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE 
WORLD 

The  supreme  need  of  the  world  is  a  real 
God;  not  the  Great  Perhaps,  but  the  great 
I  am;  not  a  God  of  yesterday  or  of  to-mor- 
row, but  of  to-day;  not  an  "absentee"  God, 
but  one  who  is  precisely  here;  not  a  Sunday 
God,  but  an  every-day  God. 

It  is  much  easier  to  think  of  God  as  deal- 
ing with  Israel  and  Egypt,  Assyria  and 
Babylon,  Greece  and  Rome,  than  to  think  of 
him  as  ruling  and  judging  the  United  States, 
Great  Britain  and  Russia.  It  is  much  easier 
to  think  of  him  as  sustaining  personal  rela- 
13 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

tions  to  Abraham,  Moses  and  David  than  to 
believe  that  he  has  a  plan  of  life  for  you  and 
me. 

In  our  thought  we  are  constantly  limiting 
God  in  space  and  time,  as  if  he  could  be 
more  present  there  than  here,  as  if  he  could 
be  more  active  then  than  now,  as  if  he  were 
not  "the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever" 
and  everywhere. 

It  is  easy  for  us  to  think  of  him  as  attend- 
ing to  the  great,  but  not  to  the  small;  ?s 
if  he  were  the  creator  and  governor  of  solar 
systems,  but  not  of  molecules  and  microbes ;  as 
if  he  were  the  God  of  presidents  and  em- 
perors, but  not  of  common  folk.  We  forget 
that  as  the  infinitely  small  and  the  infinitely 
great  are  alike  beyond  us,  so  they  are  alike 
the  objects  of  knowledge  and  of  power  which 
are  infinite;  and  God  is  as  present  in  the  one 
as  in  the  other. 

The  world's  need  of  God  is  as  constant  and 
as  universal  as  is  his  presence;  but  men  are 
14 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE  WORLD 

often  as  unconscious  of  the  one  as  of  the 
other.  They  know  that  they  want,  but  many 
do  not  know  that  it  is  God  they  want;  do  not 
know  that  the  need  of  him  is  as  wide  as  human 
life  and  as  deep  as  the  human  heart. 

Now  this  need  of  God,  rising  into  con- 
sciousness, is  the  beginning  of  religion ;  and  re- 
ligion is  true  and  vital  in  proportion  as  God  is 
correctly  and  vividly  apprehended,  and  as  char- 
acter and  life  are  brought  into  harmony  with 
him. 

Vital  religion  always  realizes  God,  while 
irreligion  or  worldliness  is  a  practical  denial 
of  him;  it  is  living  as  if  God  were  not;  it  is 
leaving  out  of  account  the  greatest  fact  in 
the  universe,  which  is  of  course  the  greatest 
blunder  in  the  universe. 

The  teachings,  rites  and  ceremonies  of  re- 
ligion were  originally  sincere  expressions  of 
belief  and  feeling  inspired  by  the  sense  of 
divinity.  But  because  the  repetition  of  an  act 
tends  to  create  a  habit,  actions  which  were 
IS 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

once  full  of  meaning  and  purpose  become  at 
length  automatic,  and  when  acts  or  words  are 
emptied  of  purpose  and  feeling  they  become 
meaningless.  Thus  the  forms  by  which  re- 
ligious life  is  expressed  are  always  in  danger  of 
degenerating  into  mere  fossils. 

Of  course  true  religion  is  vital,  not  mechan- 
ical ;  it  is  life,  not  form ;  it  is  essence,  not  mode ; 
it  is  spirit,  not  method.  When,  therefore,  the 
life,  the  essence,  the  spirit,  all  of  which  spring 
from  the  apprehension  of  God,  have  departed, 
then  religious  institutions,  creeds,  rituals,  cus- 
toms, may  all  coexist  with  utter  worldliness; 
and  the  way  to  break  the  power  of  worldliness 
is  to  get  a  fresh  and  vivid  apprehension  of 
God. 

Moreover,  religion  needs  to  change  the 
form  of  its  expression  from  time  to  time  in 
order  to  adjust  itself  to  changed  conditions. 
Life  must  always  be  adapted  to  its  environ- 
ment— the  wing  to  the  air,  the  foot  to  the 
ground,  the  fin  to  the  water,  the  vegetation  to 
16 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  climate.  If  environment  essentially  changes, 
life  must  adapt  itself  or  perish;  and  this  is  as 
true  of  institutional,  as  of  vegetable,  or  animal 
life.  The  life  remains  essentially  the  same, 
but  its  form  varies  with  changing  conditions. 

Now  God  is  the  spiritual  life  of  the  world, 
and  religion  is  an  expression  of  that  life.  The 
form  in  which  it  expresses  itself  is  conditioned 
by  civilization,  which  may  be  called  its  environ- 
ment. Civilization  changes  from  generation  to 
generation;  there  are  new  habits  of  thought, 
new  modes  of  life,  to  which  religion,  with  its 
institutions,  its  creeds,  its  methods,  must  adapt 
itself  or  become  fossilized  and  dead. 

One  of  the  greatest  needs  of  every  generation 
is  to  have,  its  inherited  institutions  vitalized; 
and  this  is  supremely  true  of  religious  institu- 
tions. That  is,  they  must  be  readapted  to  the 
changed  conditions  and  new  needs  of  the  times. 
The  greater  the  progress  of  civilization,  there- 
fore, the  more  imperative  is  the  necessity  of  a 
new  apprehension  of  God  that  will  make  him 

n 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

real — a  new  inspiration  of  spiritual  life  that 
will  vivify  religious  institutions. 

All  prophets,  whether  of  ancient  or  modern 
days,  are  prophets  of  God.  They  are  the  men 
who  with  clearer  vision  than  their  fellows  see 
God  in  relation  to  their  own  times ;  and  it  is  see- 
ing him  thus  which  makes  him  real.  Their  mes- 
sages are,  therefore,  the  same  in  substance,  viz., 
God  in  his  relations  to  human  life;  but  the 
messages  of  true  prophets  vary  in  form  because 
they  are  always  adapted  to  the  different  needs 
of  different  ages.  "As  the  prophet  whose 
prophecy  is  new  in  substance  is  no  prophet, 
but  a  deceiver,  so  the  prophet  whose  prophecy 
is  old  in  form  is  no  prophet,  but  a  plagiarist."  x 

All  great  spiritual  awakenings  are  awaken- 
ings to  the  reality  of  God.  It  is  the  apprehen- 
sion of  him  in  his  relations  to  existing  condi- 
tions which  makes  him  real;  and  when  God 
becomes   real,    spiritual   truths   and   spiritual 

l"Ecce  Homo,"  p.  28. 

■'    '  18 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE  WORLD 

values  become  real;  and  spiritual  life  is  man- 
ifested in  spiritual  power. 

Do  we  find  that  our  churches  lack  power 
though  full  of  machinery?  There  is  "a  wheel 
in  the  middle  of  a  wheel,"  but  there  is  lacking 
"the  spirit  of  the  living  creature  in  the  wheels." 
Life  produces  organization,  but  organization 
does  not  produce  life.  A  real  God  is  what 
our  churches  need,  and  when  they  apprehend 
him  as  a  personal  and  present  reality,  they  will 
have  life  and  power. 

The  tendency  to  worldliness,  like  the  attrac- 
tion of  gravitation,  is  a  universal  downward 
pull,  and  is  well-nigh  as  constant.  It  is  in  no 
way  peculiar  to  our  own  age,  of  course,  but 
it  has  had  a  threefold  reinforcement  in  modern 
times,  which  makes  it  peculiarly  difficult  for 
this  generation  to  apprehend  God  with  vivid- 
ness. 

I.  The  unprecedented  material  development 
of  the  past  century  has  created  a  materialistic 
civilization,  to  which  spiritual  truths  are  dim. 
19 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

To  most  men  the  great  realities  are  those  which 
can  be  seen  and  handled,  weighed  and  meas- 
ured, bought  and  sold.  Machinery  has  mul- 
tiplied man's  productive  power  many  fold. 
There  has  been  an  amazing  increase  of  wealth. 
Never  before  has  there  been  such  a  scale  of 
living  among  the  million.  What  were  once 
luxuries  beyond  the  reach  of  the  rich  are  now 
become  the  every-day  conveniences  of  the  mul- 
titude. Luxuries  which  appeal  to  every  sense 
have  become  common;  and  luxury  encourages 
sensuality,  and  the  sensual  cannot  see  God. 
Thus  materialism  has  blinded  men's  spiritual 
eyes. 

2.  During  the  past  century  the  world  has 
acquired  a  new  and  radically  different  habit 
of  thought,  whose  sign  is  an  interrogation 
point,  and  whose  effects  have  become  general 
during  the  past  generation.  It  is  both  a  cause 
and  an  effect  of  the  scientific  method,  which 
has  increased  the  world's  knowledge  as  much 
as  machinery  has  increased  its  wealth. 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE  WORLD 

The  scientific  habit  of  mind  does  not  respect 
authority,  is  hostile  to  dogma,  and  encourages 
doubt.  This  iconoclast  has  passed  through  the 
temple  of  knowledge  (or  rather  of  supposed 
knowledge;  it  was  really  the  temple  of  belief), 
and  has  broken  many  an  idol  of  popular  wor- 
ship. Indeed  it  'has  largely  destroyed  the  old 
temple,  and  is  building  it  anew  and  on  different 
foundations. 

The  scientific  spirit  is  by  no  means  hostile 
to  faith.  The  destruction  of  dogma  was 
inevitable;  the  destruction  of  faith  was  inci- 
dental. While  the  two  are  essentially  different, 
they  are  intimately  related.  Faith  is  the  water 
of  life,  while  dogma  is  only  the  cup  which  con- 
tains it.  It  is  the  water  that  is  life-giving,  but 
breaking  the  earthen  vessel  has  spilled  its 
precious  contents. 

Theology  is  the  interpretation  of  the  facts 
of  religion;  and  the  great  increase  of  knowl- 
edge during  the  past  fifty  years  has  thrown 
new  light  on  the  facts  and  necessitated  a  new 
21 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

interpretation  of  them.  When  silver  passes 
into  solution  it  loses  its  form  and  becomes 
invisible  in  the  dissolving  fluid.  It  seems  to 
be  lost  outright,  but  it  is  all  there.  Now  the- 
ology has  for  several  years  been  in  a  state  of 
solution,  and  many  thought  it  was  gone 
forever.  It  had  lost  its  form,  but  the  material 
was  all  safe,  and  it  is  now  beginning  to  recrys- 
talize.  The  disappearance  of  dogma,  however, 
naturally  and  inevitably  created  a  feeling  of 
alarm  and  an  atmosphere  of  doubt. 

3.  A  third  cause  of  the  loss  of  spiritual 
apprehension,  closely  related  to  the  preceding, 
has  been  the  rapid  growth  of  natural  science, 
which  has  established  the  universal  reign  of  law, 
and  has  been  unable,  with  microscope,  scalpel 
or  crucible,  to  find  in  the  realm  of  nature  a 
Personal  Will. 

The  progress  of  the  physical  sciences  has 
served  to  emphasize  materialism,  to  demon- 
strate the  value  of  the  scientific  method,  and, 
to  many  minds,  by  establishing  the  reign  of 
22 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE  WORLD 

law,  has  seemed  to  drive  God  out  of  his  uni- 
verse. 

The  loss  of  the  sense  of  personality  in  our 
relations  with  God  is  fatal  to  piety.  "Persons 
are  love's  world."  Without  individual  ac- 
countability, there  can  be  no  sense  of  sin; 
without  individual  communion,  there  can  be 
no  prayer ;  without  individual  care  and  leading1., 
there  can  be  no  divine  providence.  There  are 
multitudes  of  intelligent,  Christian  men  to-day 
who  consider  belief  in  answers  to  prayer  or 
in  divine  providence  as  quite  superstitious. 
The  reign  of  law  has  been  substituted  for  the 
reign  of  God.  Natural  laws  come  between 
him  and  us.  These  laws  are  general;  our 
relations  to  God,  therefore,  must  be  general 
rather  than  personal. 

Now  the  very  center  and  life  of  the  Christian 
religion  is  a  divine  person;  and  spiritual  life 
depends  on  personal  relations  to  him.  The 
word  is  not,  Accept  certain  principles,  but 
"Follow  me;"  not,  I  will  show  you  the  way, 
23 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

reveal  the  truth  and  lead  you  unto  life,  but 
"I  am  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life."  He 
does  not,  like  Paul,  discourse  concerning  the 
resurrection,  but  says,  "I  am  the  resurrection.'' 
Not  his  teachings  are  to  be  the  comfort  and 
strength  of  his  people,  but  he  himself,  "Lo,  / 
am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  And  when  the  nations  are  judged, 
men  are  approved  or  condemned  not  by  some 
abstract  rule  of  right,  but  by  a  test  wholly 
personal.  "I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  gave 
me  meat,"  or,  "Ye  gave  me  no  meat." 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  to  take  away  the 
sense  of  personal  relationship  to  God  is  to 
exclude  him  from  our  lives,  and  to  devitalize 
our  religion. 

Thus  the  materialism  of  the  day,  the  preva- 
lent atmosphere  of  doubt,  and  the  substitution 
of  general  laws  for  a  Personal  Will  in  the 
government  of  the  world,  have  all  served  to 
reinforce  the  spirit  of  worldliness,  which  is 
practical  atheism.  Men  cannot  be  moved  with- 
24 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE  WORLD 

out  motives,  and  when  God  is  unreal,  the 
leverage  of  Christian  truth  has  lost  its  ful- 
crum. 

Now  these  three  causes,  discussed  above, 
which  for  half  a  century  have  served  as  the 
aUies  of  worldliness,  may  each  one  be  trans- 
formed into  a  handmaid  of  religion. 

Materialism  is  neither  peculiar  to  wealth  nor 
its  necessary  accompaniment.  The  destitute 
savage  probably  lives  for  the  material  and  is 
its  slave,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  is  possible 
to  command  every  material  good  and  yet  live 
a  spiritual  life,  because  the  material  is  sub- 
ordinated to  the  higher  nature. 

In  man,  the  physical  is  not  an  enemy  of  the 
spiritual.  When,  life  is  normal,  the  body  is 
the  servant  of  the  spirit.  It  is  through  the 
body  that  the  spirit  expresses  itself,  and  it  is 
through  the  body  that  it  is  reached  and  influ- 
enced. In  like  manner,  when  we  appreciate  the 
relations  of  the  physical  or  the  material  to  the 
kingdom  of  God,  we  shall  see  that  rightly 
25 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

used  it  is  not  a  hindrance  but  a  help,  a  medium 
through  which  influences  may  be  brought  to 
bear  on  the  spiritual  life  of  the  world  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  kingdom.  Indeed,  if  space 
permitted,  it  might  be  shown  that  the  material 
progress  of  the  past  century  will  prove  in  God's 
hands  one  of  the  most  powerful  agencies  in 
promoting  the  coming  of  his  kingdom  in  the 
world. 

Again,  the  new  habit  of  thought,  or  the 
scientific  method,  certainly  produced  an  atmos- 
phere of  paralyzing  doubt;  but  this  was  part 
of  the  necessary  cost  of  progress,  the  natural 
penalty  of  credulity;  for  believing  what  one 
ought  to  doubt  often  leads  to  doubting  what 
one  ought  to  believe. 

Real  knowledge  can  never  be  dangerous  to 
true  faith.  The  man  who  is  afraid  of  light 
confesses  thereby  that  he  suspects  his  own 
creed.  There  is  now  appearing  a  new  faith 
which  is  courageous  because  it  is  intelligent. 
It  does  not  fear  the  light,  because  it  was  grown 
26 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE  WORLD 

in  the  light.  That  is  not  real  faith,  but  super- 
stition, which  flourishes  in  darkness  or  the 
twilight. 

"Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before. 
But  vaster."  2 

The  new  faith  and  reason  have  no  quarrel. 
The  notes  they  strike  are  different  but  har- 
monious. 

If  the  scientific  method  has  destroy ec 
dogmas,  it  has  led  us  back  to  Christ,  back 
to  the  simplicity  which  is  in  him,  and  back 
to  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  was  the  great 
subject  of  his  teaching;  and  if  doubt  paralyzes 
activity,  a  true  conception  of  the  kingdom 
inspires  enthusiasm. 

'Again,  if  the  reign  of  law  has  taken  away  a 
God  who  visited  men  from  time  to  time  in 
"special"  providences,  we  find  when  it  is  cor- 

1  "In  Memoriam." 
27 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

rectly  understood  that  it  has  given  to  us  an 
immanent  God,  in  whom  we  live  and  move  and 
have  our  being — one  who  is  not  far  enough 
from  us  even  to  be  near,  but  who  lives  within 
us. 

A  God  of  law  is  infinitely  more  worthy  of 
trust  and  of  worship  than  a  god  of  caprice.  He 
may  be  far  better  known  and,  therefore,  become 
more  real  to  us.  Jesus  said,  "Henceforth  I 
call  you  not  servants;  for  the  servant  knoweth 
not  what  his  lord  doeth;  but  I  have  called  you 
friends"  (Jno.  xv.  15).  Natural  laws,  which 
are  seen  to  be  simply  the  divine  methods,  tell 
to  us  the  story  of  God's  activities  for  ages  past, 
and  reveal  to  us  in  good  measure  his  purposes 
for  the  future,  thus  taking  us  into  his  confi- 
dence as  friends,  and  enabling  us  to  become 
intelligent  and  efficient  co-laborers  with  him 
unto  the  kingdom. 

Thus  it  appears  that  what  is  needed  to-day 
is  to  interpret  God  to  men  in  the  terms  of 
present-day  knowledge,,  and  to  present  him  in 
28 


THE  SUPREME  NEED  OF  THE  WORLD 

vital  relations  to  the  life  of  our  own  times. 
When  this  is  done,  he  will  become  real. 

This  conclusion  is  justified  not  only  by  a 
priori  reasoning,  but  also  by  history,  which 
will  be  shown  in  the  following  chapter. 


29 


II 

THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUALQUICKENING 

The  laws  of  growth  seem  to  be  much  the 
same  for  soul  and  body,  for  the  individual  and 
for  the  nation ;  but  moral  and  spiritual  develop- 
ment differ  in  an  important  particular  from 
intellectual  and  physical. 

The  latter  are  more  gradual.  There  are  of 
course  periods  of  quiescence  and  again  of 
quickening,  both  in  physical  and  in  intellectual 
growth,  but  the  progress  is  imperceptible  from 
day  to  day.  On  the  other  hand,  moral  and 
spiritual  changes  which  are  quite  revolutionary 
may  take  place  in  an  hour.  It  is  true  that  the 
processes  which  lead  up  to  these  changes  are 
usually  slow,  but  the  changes  themselves — the 
30 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

outward  expressions  of  the  inward  life — are 
apt  to»be  sudden,  and  are  often  startling. 

Ideas,  like  plants,  grow  in  the  light.  Truth 
which  is  merely  speculative  may  stimulate  in- 
tellectual growth,  but  it  sustains  no  necessary 
relation  to  life.  Moral  truth,  however,  bears 
directly  on  conduct.  When  I  learn  that  things 
which  are  equal  to  the  same  thing  are  equal 
to  each  other,  it  lays  on  me  no  obligation  of 
any  sort.  But  when  I  learn  that  God  is  my 
father  and  that  man  is  my  brother,  then  I 
ought  to  do  something  about  it.  Moral  truth, 
as  distinguished  from  speculative,  is  truth 
from  the  knowledge  of  which  follows  the  obli- 
gation to  do  something. 

Now  man  is  a  bundle  of  habits.  Our  activ- 
ities run  in  habits  as  rivers  flow  in  channels. 
The  channel  of  habit  is  formed  by  the  stream 
of  activity,  and  then  guides  that  stream.  The 
deepening  channel,  cut  by  the  continued  flow, 
makes  it  increasingly  difficult  to  turn  the 
stream  from  its  wonted  course.  That  is,  a 
31 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

habit  once  acquired  is  self-perpetuating,  so  that 
only  extraordinary  conditions  can  turn  the 
stream  of  activity  into  a  new  channel. 

A  small  increase  in  the  knowledge  of  moral 
truth  is  usually  insufficient  to  modify  an  estab- 
lished habit.  Increasing  moral  light,  however,, 
causes  uneasiness,  until  it  becomes  clear,  at 
length,  that  we  are  in  possession  of  moral 
truth  which  demands  a  change  in  our  life. 
Then  there  is  apt  to  be  more  or  less  of  a 
struggle,  the  issue  of  which  is  either  the  tri- 
umph of  the  old  habit  and  the  deterioration 
of  character,  or  the  breaking  up  of  the  old 
habit  of  doing  or  not  doing,  and  an  expression 
of  the  new  light  in  a  new  life  with  changed 
activities,  which  of  course  strengthens  char- 
acter. This  process  is  repeated,  over  and  over, 
so  that  moral  and  spiritual  growth  usually 
shows  a  series  of  changes  more  or  less 
cataclysmal. 

Because  this  is  true  of  the  individual  it  is 
also  true  of  society.  Its  inherited  customs 
32 


THE  LAW,  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

become  its  confirmed  habits.  Established 
usage  disguises  and  sanctions  many  evils,  so 
that  they  are  not  only  tolerated  but  clung  to 
tenaciously.  New  light  meets  first  with  indif- 
ference and  then  with  opposition.  Increasing 
light  causes  increasing  uneasiness  until,  at 
length,  a  change  more  or  less  revolutionary 
transforms  society.  Thus  the  moral  and  re- 
ligious progress  of  the  world  is  marked  by 
periods,  inaugurated  by  what  are  known  as 
reformations  or  great  revivals. 

The  physical  growth  of  a  nation  should  be 
accompanied  or  followed  by  a  corresponding 
intellectual  and  moral  development,  that  the 
greater  responsibilities  and  temptations,  which 
accompany  increased  riches  and  power,  may 
not  lack  adequate  wisdom  or  a  temperate  self- 
restraint.  Repeatedly,  though  not  invariably, 
a  period  of  extraordinary  material  prosperity 
has  been  followed  or  accompanied  by  one  of 
exceptional  intellectual  and  spiritual  activity. 
The  nineteenth  century  certainly  was  charac- 
33 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

terized  by  a  material  development  altogether 
marvelous  and  scarcely  less  than  miraculous; 
and  intellectual  progress  was  hardly  less  re- 
markable than  material.  The  scientific  method 
has  made  us  rich  in  knowledge.  I  suppose  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
world's  knowledge  to-day  is  less  than  one 
hundred  years  old.  Of  course  the  progress  of 
knowledge  is  destructive  as  well  as  construc- 
tive. The  old  structure  of  belief  had  to  be 
destroyed  before  the  new  could  take  its  place. 
The  intellectual  progress  of  the  age,  therefore, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  necessarily  involved 
the  prevalence  of  doubt,  and  consequently 
served  to  intensify  the  materialism  which  was 
the  natural  legacy  of  an  age  of  unparalleled 
material  progress. 

The  question,  then,  arises  whether  this  great 
advance  along  physical  and  intellectual  lines 
is  to  be  followed  by  a  new  advance  along  spir- 
itual lines. 

The  advent  of  the  new  century  was  hailed, 
34 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

both  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  as  a  fitting 
time  for  a  new  awakening  to  the  things  of 
the  spirit,  a  keener  sense  of  realities  which 
sustain  no  relation  to  the  yard-stick,  the  scales 
or  the  crucible,  a  fuller  appreciation  of  values 
that  are  never  quoted  on  the  stock  exchange. 
Earnest  and  extended  efforts  were  made  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  and  especially  in 
England,  to  arouse  the  conscience  and  to 
quicken  the  religious  life.  Great  meetings 
were  held;  but  in  England  the  attendance  was 
almost  exclusively  that  of  professed  Christians, 
while  in  the  United  States  the  number  of  con- 
versions was  apparently  no  greater  than  is 
expected  to  accompany  the  regular  activities  of 
the  churches  every  winter. 

Is  there  to  be  during  the  twentieth  century 
a  mighty  religious  awakening,  such  as  occurred 
in  the  sixteenth,  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries,  and  in  both  the  first  and  second  half 
of  the  nineteenth?  These  great  movements, 
which  lifted  nations  and  civilizations  to  a 
35 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

higher  plane,  did  not  come  uncaused  or  hap- 
hazard.    It  is  as  easy  to  invoke  them  as  to 

"...  call  spirits  from  the  vasty  deep. 
But  will  they  come  when  you  do  call  for  them?" 

Not  simply  for  the  calling.  Means  must 
be  adapted  to  ends.  The  law  which  gov- 
erns such  movements  must  be  obeyed.  The 
way  of  the  Lord  must  be  prepared,  his  paths 
must  be  made  straight. 

These  movements  differed  widely  in  charac- 
ter, in  method,  and  in  the  conditions  from 
which  they  sprang;  some  of  them  had  political 
as  well  as  religious  elements,  whose  causes 
were  complex  and  remote;  and  yet  the  study 
of  them  reveals  the  fact  that  each  of  these  great 
religious  awakenings  came  in  connection  with 
the  preaching  of  a  neglected  Scriptural  truth 
zvhich  was  precisely  adapted  to  the  peculiar 
needs  of  the  times. 

A  rapid  review  of  these  movements  will,  I 
think,  suffice  to  establish  the  above  generaliza- 
tion. 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

The  Sixteenth  Century. 

At  the  time  of  the  great  awakening,  known 
as  the  German  Reformation,  the  individual  was 
wholly  overshadowed  by  the  church;  his  con- 
science was  in  her  keeping,  his  liberties  were 
sacrificed  to  her  absolutism,  his  salvation  was 
dependent  on  her  sacraments.  A  truth  was 
needed,  the  acceptance  of  which  would  free 
the  individual  from  bondage  to  the  church  and 
bring  him  into  right  personal  relations  with 
God. 

When  Luther  was  at  Rome  toiling  up 
"Pilate's  Stairway"  on  his  knees,  and  the  text, 
"The  just  shall  live  by  faith,"  flashed  into  his 
mind,  it  came  as  a  revelation,  and  he  saw  that 
man  must  be  saved,  not  by  ceremonials  nor 
sacraments  nor  works,  but  by  a  vital  faith. 
It  followed  that  the  personal  relation  of  every 
soul  to  Jesus  Christ  was  fundamental,  and  the 
central  truth  preached  by  Luther  and  the  other 
reformers  was  justification  by  faith. 

The  prevalence  of  this  teaching,  heretofore 
37 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

neglected,  established  the  importance  of  the 
individual,  won  for  him  liberty  of  conscience, 
and  made  his  salvation  subjective — a  matter 
of  character.  Thus  the  peculiar  needs  of  the 
times  called  for  a  truth  which  had  long  been 
lost  to  sight,  and  the  great  awakening  came 
when  that  truth  was  powerfully  preached. 

The  Seventeenth  Century. 

The  next  great  spiritual  movement  came  in 
the  following  century,  and  is  known  as  the 
Puritan  revival. 

Civil  power,  which  under  the  feudal  system 
had  been  widely  distributed  among  the  nobles, 
gradually  passed  from  weaker  to  stronger  and 
fewer  hands,  until  now  it  was  centralized  in 
the  king,  who  claimed  by  divine  right  an 
authority  superior  to  all  human  control.  Laud 
and  the  churchmen  whom  he  led  were  abject 
in  their  dependence  on  the  crown.  "They 
erected  the  most  dangerous  pretensions  of  the 
monarchy  into  religious  dogmas.  Their 
38 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

model,  Bishop  Andrews,  had  declared  James 
to  have  been  inspired  by  God.  They  preached 
passive  obedience  to  the  worst  tyranny." s 
The  crown  claimed  the  right  to  dictate  the 
people's  faith  and  the  form  of  their  worship, 
thus  arrogating  to  itself  some  of  the  prerog- 
atives claimed  by  the  Roman  church,  against 
which  the  reformers  protested  in  the  previous 
century.  The  liberating  truth,  therefore,  which 
Luther  had  proclaimed  was  again  needed,  and 
it  was  again  revived. 

Furthermore,  a  new  emphasis  was  laid  on 
the  doctrine  of  the  divine  sovereignty.  The 
king  was  the  head  of  the  church  as  well  as 
of  the  state.  Men  were  awed  by  the  sacred  - 
ness  of  their  sovereign.  Doubtless  many  of 
his  subjects  deemed  it  a  much  more  serious 
matter  to  offend  against  him  than  to  sin 
against  God.  The  sovereignty  of  the  king 
was  real;  its  sanctions  were  real,  and  were 
being  suffered  by  many  in  their  own  persons 

•  Green's  "History  of  the  English  People,"  Sec.  989. 
39 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

and  in  their  estates.  When,  therefore,  the 
Puritans  proclaimed  that  God  was  the  head 
of  the  church,  and  that  conscience  was  answer- 
able only  to  him,  this  revival  of  the  truth  of 
the  divine  sovereignty  made  God  a  living  God ; 
it  made  his  law  real  and  its  violation  heinous. 
Thus  the  faithful  preaching  of  an  obscured 
Scriptural  truth,  precisely  adapted  to  the  pecu- 
liar needs  of  the  times,  aroused  the  conscience 
and  awoke  the  religious  life  of  the  nation. 

The  Eighteenth  Century. 

The  next  great  revival  was  that  in  which 
the  Wesleys  and  Whitfield  were  the  great 
figures. 

The  reaction  which  followed  the  Restora- 
tion led  to  a  rapid  moral  deterioration. 
George  II.  illustrated  the  licentiousness  of  the 
court  and  Walpole  the  corruption  of  the  gov- 
ernment, while  indecencies,  immoralities  and 
barbarities  abounded  among  the  people.  Re- 
ligion had  lost  all  spirituality.  Isaac  Taylor 
40 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

calls  the  church  of  this  period  "a  fair  carcass ;" 
and  Blackstone  says  that  he  went  to  hear  every 
preacher  of  note  in  London,  and  that  there  was 
not  one  whose  discourse  indicated  whether  he 
was  a  follower  of  Confucius,  or  of  Mohammed, 
or  of  Christ.  Religion  seemed  to  consist  in 
its  outward  and  formal  observances.  The 
great  spiritual  truths  of  Christianity  were  neg- 
lected. There  was  a  profound  lack  of  spiritual 
earnestness.  The  teachers  of  religion  had 
little  experience  of  its  power.  Wesley  himself 
had  been  in  the  ministry  thirteen  years,  and 
had  served  as  a  missionary  in  Georgia  for  two 
years  before  he  had  a  deep  experience  of  the 
spiritual  truths  of  the  gospel.  He  tells  us  in 
the  journal  of  his  homeward  voyage  that  he 
"who  went  to  America  to  convert  others  was 
never  himself  converted  to  God." 

His   conversion   took   place   just   after   his 

return  to  England,  and  from  that  time  on  "he 

had  a  forgotten  gospel  to  preach — the  gospel 

by  which  men  were  to  be  converted,  as  he  had 

41 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

been,  and  to  be  made  'new  creatures.' "  * 
"The  doctrines  which  Wesley  revived,  restated 
and  emphasized  in  his  sermons  and  writings 
are  present  personal  salvation  by  faith,  the 
witness  of  the  Spirit,  and  sanctification." 5 
Thus  historians  of  Methodism  refer  to  a  new 
life,  beginning  with  a  new  birth,  as  "revived" 
doctrines,  "a  forgotten  gospel." 

Evidently  these  neglected  Scriptural  truths 
were  precisely  adapted  to  the  religious  and 
moral  needs  of  the  times,  and  when  they  were 
faithfully  proclaimed  the  great  awakening  of 
the  century  came. 

The  First  Half  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

Among  the  notable  evangelists  identified 
with  the  great  religious  movements  of  the  first 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century  Charles  G. 
Finney  was  the  central  figure. 

The  doctrine  of  the  divine  sovereignty  had 

*  Encyc.  Britannica,  art.  "Methodism." 

'Dr.  H.  K.  Carroll  in  Schaff-Herzog "Encyc. of  Re- 
ligious Knowledge." 

42 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

triumphed.  In  this  country  the  church  had 
no  head  save  Jesus  Christ.  Conscience  was 
accountable  to  God  only.  But  the  doctrine  of 
the  divine  sovereignty  was  held  in  such  a  way 
as  to  destroy  all  appreciation  of  human  free- 
dom, resulting  in  a  widespread  paralysis  of 
conscience  and  will.  Multitudes  were  waiting 
with  folded  hands  for  God  to  come  and  con- 
vert them. 

Then  Finney  thundered  forth  the  neglected 
truth  of  man's  free  agency  and  guilt,  and  the 
retribution  due  to  sin.  He  aimed  at  the  con- 
science and  will,  and  never  ceased  to  emphasize 
the  responsibility  of  the  sinner.  He  says  in 
his  autobiography,  "Instead  of  telling  sinners 
to  use  the  means  of  grace  and  pray  for  a  new 
heart,  we  called  on  them  to  make  themselves 
a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit,  and  pressed  the 
duty  of  instant  surrender  to  God."  8 

This  message,  which  is  as  old  as  the  Hebrew 
prophets,  had  been  so  long  neglected  that  it 

•  "Memoirs,"  p.  189. 
43 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

was  forgotten  and  seemed  new  when  Mr. 
Finney  began  to  proclaim  it.  Its  precise  adap- 
tation to  the  peculiar  needs  of  the  times  was 
shown  by  the  results  of  its  application.  Con- 
science was  so  aroused  that  men  were  utterly 
overcome  by  its  terrors.  On  one  occasion, 
when  preaching  in  a  school-house,  he  tells  us 
that  an  awful  solemnity  settled  down  upon  the 
congregation  and  people  began  to  fall  on  the 
floor  and  cry  for  mercy.  "If  I  had  had  a 
sword  in  each  hand,"  he  says,  "I  could  not 
have  cut  them  off  their  seats  as  fast  as  they 
fell."  And  in  a  few  minutes  nearly  the  whole 
congregation  were  either  on  their  knees  or 
prostrate.  Similar  manifestations  of  over- 
whelming conviction  were  not  uncommon. 

Thus  again  did  neglected  Scriptural  truth, 
which  precisely  fitted  religious  and  moral  con- 
ditions, awake  the  sleeping  conscience  of 
multitudes. 

The  revival  which  began  in  1857  and  con- 
tinued until  i860  may  be  called  a  sort  of  con- 
44 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

necting  link  between  the  great  awakenings  of 
the  first  and  second  halves  of  the  century, 
though  in  type  it  rather  belonged  to  the  former. 

The  Last  Half  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 
During  the  first  two-thirds  of  the  century 
profound  changes  took  place,  unparalleled  in 
the  history  of  civilization.  The  industrial 
revolution  had  produced  radically  new  condi- 
tions. Men  had  begun  to  live  at  a  much  more 
rapid  pace ;  they  were  being  driven  by  the  new 
machinery  which  they  had  produced.  Steam 
and  electricity  had  proved  to  be  whip  and  spur. 
Life  had  become  much  more  intense.  A 
change  gradually  took  place  in  the  nervous 
organization,  and  men  grew  keenly  sensitive 
to  suffering.  Philanthropic  movements  mul- 
tiplied. Men  became  more  considerate  of 
dumb  animals  than  their  grandfathers  had  been 
of  human  beings.  It  was  only  a  few  genera- 
tions since  the  most  enlightened  court  in 
Christendom  had  sentenced  men  to  be  boiled 
45 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

to  death  in  oil.  Now  cruelty;  to  a  horse  or 
a  dog  was  a  crime. 

Such  a  change  in  human  sensibilities  could 
not  fail  to  demand  a  modification  of  the  stern 
theology  of  the  Puritans.  The  "terrors  of  the 
Lord"  had  been  the  chief  reliance  to  persuade 
men. 

When  the  great  religious  awakenings  came, 
in  which  Mr.  Moody  was  the  leader,  a  new 
note  was  heard.  It  was  the  long  neglected 
doctrine  of  the  love  of  God.  Not  only  had 
the  nation  become  more  keenly  sensitive  to 
suffering,  but  it  had  just  passed  through  the 
baptism  of  war.  There  had  been  one  smitten 
in  well-nigh  every  home.  Millions  of  hearts 
were  longing  for  consolation.  At  such  a  time 
and  under  such  conditions  the  tender  truth  of 
the  love  of  God  could  melt  hearts  which  no 
blows  could  break.  This  Scriptural  truth,  long 
obscured  by  theology,  was  precisely  what  was 
needed :  and  notwithstanding  the  headlong  rush 
of  business,  men  stopped  and  turned  aside  to 
46 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

hear  that  "God  so  loved  the  world."  This 
message  persuaded  multitudes  who  had  become 
indifferent  to  the  staple  presentations  of  the 
pulpit. 

Again  the  preaching  of  neglected  truth 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  times  made  God  and 
the  great  spiritual  verities  real  to  men. 

Be  it  observed,  Moody  did  not  repeat  the 
message  of  Finney,  nor  did  Finney  repeat  that 
of  Wesley,  nor  Wesley  that  of  the  Puritans, 
nor  did  the  Puritans  simply  reiterate  the  great 
doctrine  of  Luther  and  the  Reformation.  Each 
dealt  more  or  less  with  the  great  body  of  Chris- 
tian truth,  of  course,  but  each  had  a  distinctive 
message,  which  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  his 
own  times  and,  therefore,  made  God  real  to 
the  men  of  his  generation.  Nor  did  the 
prophet  of  one  age  employ  the  methods  of  his 
predecessors.  Though  the  substance  was  the 
same,  the  form  and  method  were  new  because 
the  times  were  new.  The  men  who  to-day 
expect  to  reproduce  Moody's  results  by  repro- 
47 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

ducing  his  message  and  his  methods  will  fail 
as  completely  as  Moody  would  have  failed,  if 
he  had  been  a  mere  imitation  of  Finney. 
Such  men,  as  the  author  of  "Ecce  Homo" 
says,  are  plagiarists  rather  than  prophets. 
The  true  prophet  sees  God  in  his  own  times 
and  in  relation  to  the  peculiar  needs  of  his 
own  day,  and  thus  makes  others  see  him. 

The  new  form  of  the  message  arouses  oppo- 
sition and  very  likely  attracts  stones,  but  when 
results  demonstrate  its  truth  and  its  power, 
the  next  generation  builds  the  prophet's 
sepulcher. 

If  the  above  brief  review  of  the  great  awak- 
enings of  the  past  four  hundred  years  sustains 
our  generalization,  does  it  not  afford  a  reason- 
able basis  for  future  reckoning?  And  if  neg- 
lected Scriptural  truth  precisely  adapted  to  the 
peculiar  needs  of  our  own  times  can  be  pointed 
out,  is  there  not  a  strong  presumption  that 
the  next  great  spiritual  awakening  will  come 
when  this  truth  is  faithfully  preached? 
48 


THE  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL  QUICKENING 

It  is  quite  obvious  that  the  great  questions 
peculiar  to  our  times  are  social.  The  indus- 
trial revolution  has  produced  a  social  revolu- 
tion ;  we  have  passed,  within  three  generations, 
from  an  individualistic  to  a  social  or  collective 
type  of  civilization.  Relations  which  a  hun- 
dred years  ago  were  few  and  simple  are  now 
become  many  and  complex.  New  questions 
concerning  rights  and  duties  are  being  asked. 
Society  is  gaining  self-consciousness,  which 
marks  one  of  the  most  important  steps  in  the 
progress  of  the  race.  We  are  beginning  to 
see  that  society  lives  one  vast  life,  of  which 
every  man  is  a  part.  We  are  gaining  what 
Walter  Besant  calls  "the  sense  of  humanity." 
We  are  discovering  that  life  is  something 
larger  and  farther  related  than  we  had  thought ; 
and  with  this  perception  of  wider  and  mul- 
tiplied relations  comes  a  new  sense  of  social 
obligations.  That  is,  a  social  conscience  is 
growing,  though  as  yet  it  is  uninstructed. 

The  wonderful  increase  of  wealth  and  of 

40 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

knowledge  during  the  past  century  has  served 
to  create  a  new  discontent  and  to  kindle  a  new 
hope.  It  has  transferred  the  golden  age  of 
the  world  from  the  past  to  the  future;  and 
this  golden  age,  yet  to  come,  constitutes  a  new 
social  ideal. 

In  the  succeeding  chapters  it  will  be  shown 
that  the  social  ideal  of  Jesus  is  precisely  what 
is  needed  to  inform  and  spiritualize  and  per- 
fect this  new  social  ideal,  and  that  the  social 
laws  of  Jesus  are  precisely  what  is  needed  to 
educate  the  new  social  conscience. 


5^ 


Ill 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

THE  SOCIAL  IDEAL  OF  JESUS 

There  is  taking  place  a  "rediscovery  of 
Christ"  which  is  of  profound  significance. 
This  return  to  the  Master  means  a  clearer  con- 
ception of  his  character,  a  truer  understanding 
of  his  teaching,  a  larger  comprehension  of  his 
mission,  a  more  loyal  surrender  to  his  author- 
ity. It  means  also  the  gaining  of  Christ's 
point  of  view. 

What  we  see  depends  very  largely  on  the 

point  from  which  we  look.     When  we  gain  a 

new  point  of  view,  of  course  the  landscape  itself 

does  not  change,  but  our  apprehension  of  it 

Si 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

does.  Some  objects  become  more  prominent, 
some  less  so;  some  disappear  altogether,  while 
some  new  features  are  seen.  So  in  the  world 
of  ideas,  established  truths  of  course  remain 
fixed,  but  with  a  new  point  of  view  our  mental 
perspective  changes;  truths  are  seen  in  new 
relations;  some  assume  greater  importance 
than  before,  and  some  less ;  we  gain  some  new 
ideas,  and  some  old  conceptions  drop  out  of 
sight. 

It  makes  a  great  difference  what  our  point 
of  view  is.  The  largeness  of  our  vision  and 
the  accuracy  of  our  knowledge  are  conditioned 
by  it.  The  eye  may  be  held  so  low  that  a 
stump  will  hide  a  mountain;  and  the  higher 
we  rise,  the  more  distinctly  do  the  great  feat- 
ures of  the  landscape  stand  out,  and  the  more 
perfectly  do  we  comprehend  their  relations  to 
each  other. 

Now  no  Christian  surely  can  doubt  that 
Jesus  occupied  the  correct  point  of  view,  that 
in  his  perspective  truths  were  seen  in  their 

52 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

right  relations  and  true  proportions;  and  it  is 
certain  that  his  great  theme  was  The  Kingdom 
of  God. 

His  very  first  public  utterance  related  to  the 
kingdom.  After  the  record  of  his  temptation, 
we  read :  "From  that  time  Jesus  began  to 
preach,  and  to  say,  Repent;  for  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  at  hand"  (Matt.  iv.  17).  The 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  has  been  called 
his  great  inaugural  address,  referred  to  the 
kingdom  repeatedly,  beginning  with  its  open- 
ing sentence.  In  that  discourse  he  states  and 
repeats  the  condition  of  entrance  into  the 
kingdom,  tells  who  will  be  greatest  and  least 
in  it,  and  gives  practical  illustrations  of  the 
spirit  of  obedience  required  of  its  members. 
We  learn  further  that  the  kingdom  was  his. 
habitual  theme :  "And  Jesus  went  about  all 
Galilee,  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and 
preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom"  (Matt. 
iv.  23).  And  again  at  a  later  period  we  are 
told  that  "Jesus  went  about  all  the  cities  and 
53 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

villages,  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and 
preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom"  (Matt. 
ix.  35).  He  sent  forth  the  seventy,  who, 
whether  accepted  or  rejected,  were  to  pro- 
claim everywhere :  "The  kingdom  of  God  is 
come  nigh  unto  you"  (Luke  x.  1-11).  He 
commissioned  the  twelve  disciples,  and  his 
charge  to  them  was :  "As  ye  go,  preach,  saying : 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand"  (Matt. 
x.  7).  He  declares  that  he  himself  was  sent 
to  preach  the  kingdom  of  God  (Luke  iv.  43). 
When  the  disciples  asked  the  Master  to  teach 
them  how  to  pray,  after  the  words,  "Hallowed 
be  thy  name,"  the  very  first  petition  was,  "Thy 
kingdom  come."  From  the  later  words,  "Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  it  appears  that 
this  was  intended  to  be  a  daily  prayer ;  that  is, 
we  are  taught  to  pray  daily  for  the  coming 
of  the  kingdom.  And  if  we  ought  to  pray  for 
it  daily,  we  ought  to  work  for  it  daily;  so  the 
Master  thought,  for  in  the  same  discourse  he 
said :  "Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God" 
54 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

(Matt.  vi.  33).  This  does  not  mean,  as  has 
been  so  often  supposed,  "First  become  a  Chris- 
tian." Seeking  the  kingdom  does  not  mean 
trying  to  enter  the  kingdom.  Jesus  has  just 
been  saying,  Do  not  make  provision  for  your 
natural  wants  the  great  concern  of  life. 
After  these  things  do  the  nations  seek. 
That  is,  the  nations  make  food  and  raiment 
the  great  object  of  daily  concern,  but  do  you 
make  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  its  extension  in 
the  world,  the  great  object  of  your  daily 
endeavor,  and  then  all  these  things  shall  be 
added.  "Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom"  means 
seek  it  first  to-day  and  to-morrow  and  all  the 
time.  Prayer  and  endeavor  should  always 
keep  step.  If  either  lags  behind  the  other, 
both  suffer  detriment.  Thus  Jesus  teaches  that 
the  kingdom  is  to  be  the  first  subject  of  daily 
prayer,  and  the  first  object  of  daily  effort. 

The  parables  of  our  Lord  are  largely  occu- 
pied with  the  kingdom,  its  nature,  its  exceeding 
value,  the  method  and  conditions  of  its  growth, 
55 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

its  comprehensiveness,  its  final  triumph.  Its 
many  aspects  are  represented  by  many  com- 
parisons. The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened 
unto  a  man  which  sowed  good  seed  in  his 
field  (Matt.  xiii.  24).  It  is  like  a  grain  of 
mustard  seed  (verse  31);  it  is  like  leaven 
(verse  33)  ;  it  is  like  treasure  hid  in  a  field 
(verse  44)  ;  it  is  like  a  merchantman,  seeking 
goodly  pearls  (verse  45)  ;  it  is  like  a  net  cast 
into  the  sea  (verse  47)  ;  it  is  like  a  certain  king 
which  would  take  account  of  his  servants 
(Matt,  xviii.  23) ;  it  is  like  a  householder 
( Matt.  xx.  1 )  ;  it  is  like  a  king  which  made  a 
marriage  for  his  son  (Matt.  xxii.  2)  ;  it  is  like 
ten  virgins  ( Matt.  xxv.  1 )  ;  it  is  like  a  man 
travelling  into  a  far  country  (Matt.  xxv.  14). 
The  whole  book  of  Matthew  is  no  longer 
than  many  popular  lectures.  One  can  read  it 
in  an  hour  and  twenty  or  thirty  minutes;  and 
yet  in  this  one  book  Christ  refers  to  the  king- 
dom no  less  than  forty-five  times,  and  in  the 
synoptic  Gospels  over  a  hundred  times. 
56 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

That  the  kingdom  was  Christ's  habitual  sub- 
ject of  discourse  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  his 
instruction  is  called  "the  word  of  the  kingdom" 
(Matt.  xiii.  19),  and  that  explaining  his  teach- 
ings to  the  disciples  was  making  known  to  them 
"the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom"  (Matt.  xiii. 
11),  and  that  when  they  understood  his  teach- 
ings they  were  "instructed  unto  the  kingdom" 
(Matt.  xiii.  52).  This  moreover  was  the 
message  which  they  were  to  carry  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  "And  this  gospel  of  the  king- 
dom shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a 
witness  unto  all  nations"  (Matt.  xxiv.  14). 
After  his  passion,  during  the  interval  between 
his  resurrection  and  ascension,  his  theme  was 
still  the  same,  for  we  are  told  (Acts  i.  3)  that 
he  was  seen  of  the  apostles  forty  days,  "speak- 
ing of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom 
of  God."  Evidently,  from  first  to  last,  the 
burden  of  his  discourse  was  the  kingdom. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  to  misunderstand  the 
doctrine  of  the  kingdom  is  to  misunderstand 
57 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

the  message  of  Jesus,  it  is  to  misunderstand 
Christianity,  it  is  to  misunderstand  the  mis- 
sion of  the  church,  it  is  to  misunderstand 
Christ's  interpretation  of  life;  and  the  doctrine 
of  the  kingdom  has  been  misunderstood  for 
centuries.  The  conception  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  even  among  Christians,  is  generally 
vague  and  very  commonly  erroneous. 

Thus  appears  the  profound  significance  of 
the  return  to  Christ,  the  rediscovery  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  I  venture  to  think  it  is  the 
most  thought-compelling,  the  most  zeal-inspir- 
ing, the  most  world-transforming  of  all  the 
great  movements  of  this  wonder-crowded 
age. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  this  rediscovered 
kingdom  the  Bible  must  be  restudied,7  and  our 
conception  of  Christianity  must  be  reconsidered, 
and  history  must  be  reinterpreted,  and  theology 
must   be   rereasoned,   and   our   philosophy  of 

*  For  an  admirable  study  of  the  Bible  from  this  point 
of  view  see  "The  Kingdom  of  God,"  by  F.  H.  Stead. 

58 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

life  must  be  reconstructed,8  and  church  methods 
must  be  readjusted,  and  the  industrial  system 
must  be  reformed,  and  society  must  be  reorgan- 
ized. All  this  is  involved  in  the  new  Christian 
renaissance. 

The  common  belief  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
has  been  much  like  many  men's  belief  in  im- 
mortality— something  ghostly,  mysterious,  in- 
tangible and  vague,  and,  so  far  as  each 
individual  man  is  concerned,  something  future, 
very  remotely  related,  if  at  all,  to  the  hard 
facts  of  every-day  life.  Such  a  belief,  of 
course,  could  have  no  appreciable  influence  on 
character  or  conduct. 

Many  have  supposed  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  was  identical  with  heaven,  the  home  of 
the  blessed  dead.  This  mistake  is  doubtless 
due  to  the  expression  so  common  in  the  Gospel 
of  Matthew,  the  "kingdom  of  heaven,"  which 
is  synonymous  with  the  "kingdom  of  God." 

*  For  a  philosophy  of  life  from  this  point  of  view  see 
my  "The  Times  and  Young  Men." 
59 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

By  those  holding  this  view  the  importance 
attached  to  the  kingdom  in  the  teachings  of 
Christ  is  understood  to  emphasize  the  import- 
ance of  gaining  heaven.  To  seek  the  kingdom 
is  to  seek  heaven,  and  to  enter  into  it  is  to 
gain  heaven  at  last.  The  great  object  of 
endeavor  is  to  "save  the  soul."  It  results 
naturally  in  a  subjective  type  of  religion,  and 
an  individualistic  Christianity.  It  is  acknowl- 
edged that  Christians  have  duties  to  their 
fellows,  but  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  arouse 
them  to  earnest  and  sustained  activity  in  behalf 
of  others.  If  religion  is  deep  enough  to 
become  the  real  business  of  life,  that  business 
is  to  gain  heaven.  Many  have,  therefore,  sep- 
arated themselves  from  the  world,  and  have 
sought  heaven  by  way  of  the  hermit's  cave 
and  the  cell  of  the  monk.  Instead  of  con- 
quering the  world,  they  ran  away  from  it. 

This    conception    of    Christianity   finds    its 
most  perfect  exposition  in  the  wonderful  alle- 
gory of  Bunyan.     Christian  leaves  his  city  to 
60 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

its  destruction  and  devotes  his  life  to  gaining  a 
destination  of  personal  safety. 

Another  extremely  common  misconception 
of  the  kingdom  identifies  it  with  the  visible 
church.  Thus  the  church,  instead  of  being  a 
means  to  the  kingdom  as  an  end,  becomes  an 
end  in  itself.  It  devotes  itself  to  its  own 
upbuilding.  It  says  to  men,  "The  church 
needs  you."  It  sets  apart  ministers,  priests, 
elders,  deacons  and  deaconesses  "for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  church."  People  are  urged  to 
attend  church  in  order  "to  support  its  services." 
The  usual  question  with  church-extension 
societies  is,  What  is  the  best  location  for  the 
proposed  church  ?  Where  will  it  soonest  reach 
self-support?  The  thought  is  not,  Where 
will  the  church  best  serve  the  community,  but 
where  will  the  community  best  serve  the 
church  ? 

Now  Christ  pleased  not  himself.  He  came 
"not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister." 
How  completely,  then,  does  a  self-seeking 
61 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

church  misrepresent  its  Master?  This  is  one 
of  the  chief  reasons  why  the  church  has  lost 
its  hold  on  the  multitude.  Workingmen  gen- 
erally believe  that  the  church  is  selfish,  that 
it  seeks  them  for  its  own  sake  rather  than 
theirs.  I  am  sure  their  conclusions  are  too 
sweeping,  but  I  am  equally  sure  that  there 
is  too  much  ground  for  them. 

Identifying  the  kingdom  with  the  visible 
church  results  in  the  sin  of  ecclesiasticism, 
and  the  wretched  strife  of  sectarianism.  Men 
quarrel  over  "my"  church  and  "your"  church 
and  the  "true"  church,  but  we  never  hear  of 
"my"  kingdom  or  of  "your"  kingdom.  The 
kingdom  belongs  to  Christ;  and  that  is  the 
supreme  end,  to  which  the  church  is  only  a 
means.  If  men  had  remembered  this,  they 
would  have  seen  that  citizenship  in  the  king- 
dom is  more  than  membership  in  "my"  church 
or  "yours."  When  a  church  is  thrust  in 
where  there  are  too  many  already,  it  grows, 
if  at  all,  at  the  expense  of  the  kingdom.  This 
62 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

is  because  ecclesiasticism  "seeks  first"  the 
denomination  instead  of  the  kingdom,  imagin- 
ing that  they  are  identical. 

Further,  the  identification  of  the  kingdom 
with  the  visible  church  has  led  to  the  corruption 
of  the  latter.  It  is  evident  enough  that  within 
its  membership  there  are  tares  and  wheat 
growing  together;  and  when  it  is  proposed  to 
gather  out  the  former,  men  quote  Christ's 
words  concerning  the  kingdom,  "Nay;  lest 
while  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye  root  up  also 
the  wheat  with  them.  Let  both  grow  together 
until  the  harvest"  (Matt.  xiii.  29,  30). 

Another  common  error  is  to  identify  the 
kingdom  with  the  invisible  church,  which  in 
its  effects  is  much  the  same  as  confounding  it 
with  heaven.  It  serves  to  make  the  kingdom 
intangible,  and,  therefore,  to  many  minds, 
unreal.  As  the  result  of  this  view  the  church 
ignores  the  physical;  and  to  the  multitude  it 
does  not  seem  concerned  with  real  life;  hence 
their  estrangement  from  it.  The  social  as- 
63 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

pects  of  Christianity  are  lost  sight  of.  The 
church  has  no  mission  to  society.  A  repre- 
sentative of  this  view  writes  me,  "We  have 
but  one  errand  in  this  dispensation — that  is 
to  do  as  the  apostles  did — preach  the  gospel  of 
eternal  life  to  individuals.  ...  I  keep  at  the 
only  work  I  am  commissioned  to  do,  'getting 
the  jewels  out  of  the  mud-puddle,'  not  trying 
to  clean  up  the  mud-puddle" ;  which  is  an 
extremely  happy  illustration  of  the  folly  of 
such  a  course.  There  is  many  a  miry  slough 
in  the  world  where  countless  precious  jewels 
have  been  lost  forever,  which  would  have  been 
drained  and  converted  into  good  productive 
soil  for  the  benefit  of  humanity,  if  the  church 
had  only  understood  the  true  doctrine  of  the 
kingdom,  and  had  recognized  her  social  mis- 
sion. As  the  kingdom  was  understood  to  be 
something  wholly  spiritual,  physical  evils  were 
not  seen  to  stand  in  the  way  of  its  consum- 
mation. The  numerous  "mud-puddles"  have, 
therefore,  been  allowed  to  stand.  They  were 
64 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

seen  to  be  evils,  but  evils  that  had  "come  to 
stay,"  on  which,  therefore,  the  church  should 
waste  no  time,  all  of  which  should  be  devoted 
to  getting  individual  souls  into  the  kingdom, 
which  is  as  invisible  as  its  synonym,  the  invis- 
ible church. 

Each  of  the  errors  above  referred  to,  like  all 
long-lived  and  influential  errors,  is  a  half 
truth;  and  a  half  truth  is  usually  much  more 
dangerous  than  a  whole  lie,  because  it  is  so 
much  more  plausible  and  more  tenacious  of 
life.  A  lie  that  is  unadulterated  is  soon  found 
out  by  people  who  love  the  truth,  but  a  half 
truth  may  be  hugged  by  an  honest  man,  who 
sees  the  honest  half  of  it,  and  defended  to  the 
extreme  of  fanaticism. 

It  is  a  mischievous  error  so  to  identify  the 
kingdom  of  God  with  heaven,  or  with  the 
visible  church,  or  with  the  invisible  church, 
as  to  make  it  coextensive  with  any  one  of 
them,  for  it  is  more  comprehensive  than  all  of 
them.  To  narrow  the  extent  of  the  kingdom 
65 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

is  to  narrow  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  to  narrow 
the  meaning  of  Christianity,  and  to  narrow 
the  mission  of  the  church. 

It  is  notable  that  both  Jesus  and  John  the 
Baptist  began  preaching  the  kingdom  without 
any  definition  of  it,  and  for  the  obvious  reason 
that  the  "kingdom  of  God"  was  an  expression 
quite  familiar  to  their  hearers.  Jesus  had 
much  instruction  to  give  concerning  the  king- 
dom, but  he  began  with  the  current  conception 
of  it  and  without  correcting  it. 

Truths  always  mean  more  to  the  teacher 
than  to  the  scholar.  No  teacher  can  teach  all 
he  knows.  But  there  can  be  no  communica- 
tion of  truth  whatever  unless  teacher  and 
scholar  have  some  ideas  in  common.  If  the 
subject  under  discussion  means  to  the  teacher 
one  thing  and  to  the  hearer  quite  another  and 
wholly  foreign,  there  can  be  no  instruction. 
Not  until  the  learner  has  got  hold  of  the 
teacher's  idea,  at  least  in  part,  can  instruction 
enlarge  and  correct  and  perfect  the  conception. 
66 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

If,  then,  the  conception  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  which  was  common  among  the  Israelites 
when  Jesus  began  to  teach,  had  been  wholly 
foreign  to  his  own,  his  declaration  that  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  was  at  hand  would  have 
been  either  quite  misleading  or  quite  mean- 
ingless; he  could  have  given  no  instruction 
without  defining  what  he  meant  by  the  king- 
dom. He,  however,  assumed  from  the  first 
that  the  expression  was  understood.  What, 
then,  was  the  common  understanding  of  it? 

Israel  was  founded  as  a  theocracy.  Moses, 
the  founder  of  the  nation,  was  only  the  repre- 
sentative of  Jehovah,  who  was  king.  For 
hundreds  of  years  the  nation  was  governed 
by  judges;  their  king  was  their  God.  Dis- 
trustful of  the  sons  of  Samuel,  the  people 
clamored  for  a  king  like  all  the  nations;  and 
the  Lord  said  to  Samuel,  "They  have  not 
rejected  thee,  but  they  have  rejected  me,  that 
I  should  not  reign  over  them"  (I.  Sam.  viii.  7). 

The  arms  of  David  subjugated  neighboring 
67 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

kings,  and  he  established  what  was  for  that 
age  a  powerful  empire  (II.  Sam.  viii. ;  I.  Kings 
iv.  21-24). 

The  idea  of  world  dominion — an  idea  which 
all  of  the  great  nations  of  antiquity  sought 
to  realize — dawned  on  the  mind  of  Israel; 
and  the  Davidic  empire — extending  in  the 
national  vision  until  at  length  it  embraced  all 
peoples,  ruled  from  Mount  Zion  by  one  of 
David's  royal  line — became  the  national  con- 
ception of  Jehovah's  kingdom  or  the  kingdom 
of  God. 

No  one  can  understand  the  prophets  and 
their  messages  who  does  not  bear  in  mind  that 
the  kingdom  of  God  was  the  continuous  thread 
of  thought  running  through  the  centuries,  on 
which  the  pearls  of  prophecy  were  strung. 
The  prophets  were  the  spokesmen  of  Jehovah, 
instructing  the  nation  concerning  the  charac- 
ter and  government  of  their  invisible  King, 
denouncing  their  sins  as  rebellion  against  him, 
daring  even  to  rebuke  the  king,  exhorting  the 
68 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

nation  to  repentance  and  renewed  loyalty,  and 
promising  blessings,  temporal  and  spiritual,  to 
the  obedient.  Every  revival  of  religion  was 
a  revival  of  patriotism,  a  renewed  loyalty  to 
Jehovah  as  God  and  as  King. 

As  they  gained  more  exalted  conceptions  of 
God,  they  gained  nobler  conceptions  of  his 
kingdom.  At  first  it  was  little  more  than  a 
political  ideal,  but  in  the  progress  of  two  and 
a  half  centuries,  through  the  teachings  of  suc- 
cessive prophets,  there  came  the  conception  of 
justice  (Amo6),  of  mercy  (Hosea),  of  for- 
giveness (Micah),  of  faith  and  redemption 
(Isaiah),  of  personal  relations  to  God  and 
individual  religion  (Jeremiah),  and  of  regen- 
eration (Ezekiel).  It  should  be  observed, 
however,  that  in  the  prophetic  vision  of  the 
coming  kingdom  of  God,  spiritual  blessings 
were  not  substituted  for  material  good,  but 
superadded;  there  were  to  be  universal  right- 
eousness, and  knowledge  of  God,  and  joy  in 
him,  and  an  irradiation  of  divine  glory,  but 
69 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

these  were  to  be  accompanied  by  peace  among 
the  nations,  the  increase  of  population,  health, 
long  life,  and  boundless  plenty. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  matured  prophetic 
conception  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  fully  come 
in  the  earth,  was  that  of  a  world-wide  society, 
in  which  universal  obedience  to-  the  divine  law, 
administered  by  the  Lord's  anointed,  would 
bring  universal  blessings,  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral; or,  in  one  word,  the  kingdom  of  God 
realized  would  be  an  ideal  world. 

When  the  age  of  prophecy  passed,  the  con- 
ception became  less  spiritual.  It  was  still  that 
of  an  ideal  world,  but  of  course  the  nation's 
ideal  degenerated  with  the  nation;  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  Era  the  overthrow 
of  Israel's  enemies  and  the  establishment  of 
his  worldly  power  was  the  most  important 
part  of  the  future  kingdom. 

Now  Jesus  declared  that  this  ideal  world, 
the  kingdom  of  God,  was  at  hand,  its  realiza- 
tion was  begun.  He  knew  full  well  the 
70 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

popular  conception  of  the  kingdom,  and, 
knowing  it,  he  said  in  his  "inaugural  address"  : 
"Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law 
or  the  prophets;  I  am  not  come  to  destroy 
but  to  fulfil"  (Matt.  v.  17).  If  this  means 
anything,  it  means  that  Christ  had  come  to 
make  actual  the  prophets'  vision  of  the  king- 
dom of  God.  His  ideal  was  far  nobler  than 
that  of  his  hearers,  and  it  was  to  be  realized 
by  means  very  different  from  what  they 
expected,  but  the  kingdom  of  God  which  he 
preached  and  commissioned  his  disciples  to 
preach  was  the  ideal  world,  the  perfected 
world-society,  the  social  ideal,  which  the  na- 
tional prophets  had  heralded  for  centuries  and 
had  foretold  that  the  Messiah  would  inaugu- 
rate. 

If  a  Christian  and  a  Mohammedan  discuss 
together  the  subject  of  heaven,  each  under- 
stands by  it  the  eternal  home  of  the  blessed 
dead,  though  their  conceptions  of  perfect 
blessedness  differ  radically.  But  notwith- 
71 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

standing  the  difference  in  their  ideals,  each 
means  by  "heaven"  the  ideal  life  of  the  other 
world.  In  like  manner  Jesus  talked  with  the 
Jews  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God.  Their 
ideals  of  that  kingdom  differed  widely,  but 
each  meant  by  the  expression  an  ideal  world — 
this  world  perfected.  To  the  Jew  of  that 
generation  this  world  would  not  be  ideal  unless 
he  had  his  foot  on  the  neck  of  his  enemy;  to 
Jesus  it  would  not  be  ideal  unless  man  loved 
God  supremely  and  his  neighbor  as  himself. 

From  David  to  Christ  no  Israelite  thought 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  as  beyond  the  clouds. 
Such  an  idea  would  have  been  utterly  foreign 
to  the  national  conception.  We  know  that 
the  Jews  located  the  kingdom  in  the  world. 
Nor  are  we  left  to  inference  as  to  the  teaching 
of  Jesus  on  this  point.  When  his  disciples 
asked  him  to  explain  the  parable  of  the  tares, 
he  told  them  that  the  field  in  which  tares  had 
been  sown  was  the  world  (Matt.  xiii.  38). 
At  the  harvest  these  tares  would  be  gathered 
72 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

out  of  his  kingdom  (Matt.  xiii.  40,  41).  This 
definitely  and  explicitly  locates  me  kingdom 
in  the  world. 

But  it  is  objected  that  Jesus  said,  "My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world"  (Jno.  xviii.  36). 
The  word  "world"  is  used  in  different  senses 
in  the  New  Testament.  John  writes:  "Love 
not  the  world.  ...  If  any  man  love  the  world, 
the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him"  (I.  Jno. 
ii.  15).  He  also  writes:  "God  so  loved  the 
world"  (Jno.  iii.  16).  The  more  we  love  the 
"world"  referred  to  in  the  former  passage, 
the  more  we  shall  be  unlike  God;  the  more 
we  love  the  "world"  referred  to  in  the  latter, 
the  more  shall  we  be  like  Him,  who  so  loved 
it  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son  for  its 
redemption.  In  the  latter  sense,  the  word 
means  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants,  "The 
world  and  they  that  dwell  therein."  In  the 
former,  it  means  the  kingdom  of  evil,  of  which 
Satan  is  the  prince  (Jno.  xii.  31;  Matt.  xii. 
26),  with  which  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  in 
73 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

deadly  conflict,  and  which  it  will  ultimately 
overcome  (Rev.  xi.  15).  It  was  this  world 
— the  kingdom  of  evil,  whose  members  resort 
to  violence — to  which  Christ  referred  when 
he  said:  "If  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world, 
then  would  my  servants  fight"  (Jno.  xviii.  36). 

But  definitely  locating  the  kingdom  of  God 
in  the  earth  does  not  exclude  heaven  from  it. 
That  would  seem  to  be  included  by  the  words 
in  which  Christ  declares  that  his  hearers 
would  see  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  all 
the  prophets  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  them- 
selves thrust  out  (Luke  xiii.  28). 

It  now  becomes  necessary  to  distinguish 
between  the  extent  of  the  kingdom  and  its 
content,  which  will  be  done  in  the  following 
chapter. 


74 


IV 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD— (Continued) 

ITS  EXTENT  AND  ITS  CONTENT 

There  has  been  much  vagueness  and  con- 
fusion of  thought  because  of  failure  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  extent  of  the  kingdom 
and  its  content.  In  the  broadest  sense,  its 
extent  is  as  wide  as  the  whole  universe  of 
God,  but  for  us  it  practically  includes  simply 
the  earth  and  heaven;  while  in  content  the 
kingdom  includes  only  those  who  have  come 
into  harmony  with  the  will  of  God.  When, 
in  the  Franco-Prussian  war,  the  German  sol- 
diers were  laying  siege  to  Paris,  they  were 
included  in  the  French  empire  geographically, 
75 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

but  they  did  not  belong  to  it.  In  like  manner, 
the  kingdom  of  God  includes  the  whole  world 
in  extent,  but  in  its  content  it  embraces  only 
those  who  have  surrendered  themselves  to  its 
laws.  Thus  it  is  primarily  a  spiritual  king- 
dom into  which  men  enter  by  a  spiritual  birth 
(Jno.  iii.  3),  but  at  the  same  time  it  has  its 
physical  aspects  which,  as  we  shall  see,  are 
profoundly  important.  We  speak  of  the 
world  of  thought.  In  extent,  it  includes  every 
material  thing  on  which  thought  has  been 
expended.  At  a  great  exposition  of  industry 
and  art,  you  shall  not  find  an  article  which 
does  not  show  more  or  less  evidence  of 
thought.  On  some  great  painting  or  statue 
years  of  study  have  been  spent,  but  neither 
canvas  nor  marble  can  enter  or  "inherit"  the 
world  of  thought.  Thus  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  a  kingdom  of  law,  as  wide  in  extent  as  the 
reign  of  law,  and,  therefore,  including  the 
physical  world  as  well  as  the  spiritual.  But 
it  is  also,  and  primarily,  a  kingdom  of  glad 
76 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

obedience  to  law,  and,  therefore,  one  of 
"righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost"  (Rom.  xiv.  17) — a  kingdom  which 
"flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit"  (I.  Cor.  xv. 
'50)  any  more  than  a  stone  can  enter  or 
"inherit"  the  world  of  thought. 

It  is  accordingly  made  clear  that  heaven 
and  earth  (all  nature)  and  the  church,  visible 
and  invisible,  are  all  included  in  the  extent 
of  the  kingdom,  while  its  content  embraces 
heaven,  the  invisible  church,  and  only  such 
members  of  the  visible  church  as  have  been 
regenerated.  Many  enter  the  visible  church 
without  any  experience  of  the  new  birth,  but 
no  one  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  God  without 
being  "born  from  above"  (Jno.  iii.  3).  But 
the  content  of  the  kingdom  of  God  is  more 
than  its  membership.  It  is  a  heavenly  ideal ; 
as  Bruce  says :  "The  kingdom  of  God,  in  one 
view  of  it,  is  an  ideal  hovering  in  heavenly 
purity  above  all  earthly  realities" — an  ideal 
craving  embodiment;  and  the  kingdom  comes 
77 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

in  the  earth  just  so  far  and  fast  as  this  ideal 
is  actualized. 

Many  writers  have  recognized  the  fact  that 
while  the  kingdom  is  spiritual,  there  is  a  sense 
in  which  it  is  physical;  but  no  one,  so  far  as 
I  know,  has  made  the  distinction  clear  or  has 
shown  the  importance  of  the  physical;  and 
generally  the  physical  aspects  of  the  kingdom 
are  quite  ignored. 

Olshausen  says  that  the  kingdom  of  God, 
conceived  in  the  widest  sense,  is  both  "out- 
ward and  inward."  Van  Oosterzee  says  that 
it  "embraces  heaven  and  earth."  President 
Bascom  calls  it  "the  synthesis  of  the  universe 
of  God,  physical  and  spiritual."  Westcott 
tells  us  that  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  at  once 
spiritual  and  historical;  eternal  and  temporal; 
outward  and  inward;  visible  and  invisible;  a 
system  and  an  energy,"  and  Prof.  Peabody 
says :  "We  are  brought,  then,  to  the  apparently 
paradoxical  conclusion  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  had  to  Jesus  both  significations,  that  of  a 
78 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

future  and  that  of  a  present  state,  that  of  a 
heavenly  and  that  of  an  earthly  society." 

In  the  above  distinctions,  all  characteristics 
or  elements  of  the  kingdom  which  are  de- 
scribed as  "outward,*'  "visible,"  "the  earth," 
"the  physical  universe,"  are  included  in  its 
extent  though  not  in  its  content;  and  it  is  the 
outward  and  visible  aspect,  the  physical  ele- 
ment, which  I  desire  to  emphasize,  not  because 
they  are  the  most  important,  for  they  are  the 
least  important,  but  because  they  are  the 
most  neglected. 

We  have  already  seen  that  by  the  expression, 
"kingdom  of  God,"  Jesus  meant  and  his 
hearers  understood  an  ideal  world.  The  spir- 
itual element  in  the  ideal  of  the  latter  was 
insignificant,  if  indeed  it  had  any  existence; 
but  in  the  ideal  of  Jesus  it  was  the  supreme 
element ;  and  because  he  so  emphasized  it, 
many  have  lost  sight  of  the  physical  altogether, 
and  have  spiritualized  all  his  teachings;  as  if 
"deliverance  to  the  captives"  and  "liberty  to 
79 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

them  that  are  bruised"  meant  the  spiritual 
emancipation  of  those  who  are  bound  and 
bruised  by  sin,  and  as  if  "recovering  of  sight 
to  the  blind"  meant  the  opening  of  blind 
spiritual  eyes. 

The  physical  sustains  much  the  same  rela- 
tion to  the  spiritual  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
that  it  does  in  man.  The  spiritual  is  incom- 
parably the  more  important,  but  when  you 
get  rid  of  the  physical,  all  that  is  left  is 
ghostly  and  has  little  to  do  with  this  world. 

Jesus  made  no  such  mistake.  He  knew 
that  there  could  not  be  an  ideal  world  without 
the  removal  of  physical  evil ;  hence  his  con- 
stant concern  for  the  blind,  the  lame,  the  sick, 
the  hungry.  When  we  are  told  that  he  went 
about  all  Galilee  preaching  the  gospel  of  the 
kingdom,  it  is  added,  "and  healing  all  man- 
ner of  sickness  and  all  manner  of  disease" 
(Matt.  iv.  23).  When  he  commissioned  the 
twelve  disciples  to  preach  the  gospel  of  the 
kingdom,  he  added,  "Heal  the  sick,  cleanse 
80 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

the  lepers,  raise  the  dead"  (Matt.  x.  8). 
When  John  the  Baptist  doubted  whether 
Jesus  were  indeed  the  Anointed  of  God, 
come  to  inaugurate  the  kingdom,  Jesus  said 
to  the  messengers,  "Go  and  show  John  those 
things  which  ye  do  hear  and  see"  (Matt. 
xi.  4).  There  was  visible  concrete  evidence 
of  the  coming  of  the  kingdom.  "The  blind 
receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the 
lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead 
are  raised  up,  and  the  poor  have  the  gospel 
preached  to  them"  (Matt.  xi.  5).  All  this 
was  literal,  not  figurative.  Jesus  had  compas- 
sion on  the  multitude,  not  only  when  he  saw 
that  they  were  "as  sheep  having  no  shepherd" 
(Matt.  ix.  36),  but  also  when  he  saw  that 
they  had  "nothing  to  eat"  (Matt.  xv.  32). 
When,  after  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead, 
he  saw  his  disciples  at  the  sea  of  Galilee,  he 
spoke  of  love  and  of  feeding  his  lambs  and 
sheep,  but  it  is  significant  that  his  very  first 
word  was,  "Children,  have  ye  any  meat?" 
81 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

(Trio.  xxi.  5).  Probably  some  interpreters 
would  say  that  he  meant  spiritual  food,  but 
for  the  fact  that  he  provided  a  substantial 
breakfast  for  the  hungry  fishermen,  who  found 
it  waiting  for  them  when  they  got  ashore. 

Jesus  ever  insists  on  the  spiritual — the 
transformed  character — not  because  it  is  neces- 
sary to  win  heaven,  but  because  it  is  necessary 
in  order  to  win  the  world;  his  eye  is  fixed  on 
the  earth,  not  on  the  skies.  Men  must  become 
meek,  not  because  the  meek  alone  enter  heaven, 
but  because  they  "inherit  the  earth"  (Matt, 
v.  5).  His  followers  are  become  "light,"  not 
that  they  may  gain  a  heaven  of  light,  but 
that  they  may  enlighten  the  world  (Matt.  v. 
14).  They  have  become  "salt,"  not  that  they 
may  find  a  place  among  the  saved,  but 
that  they  may  salt  and  save  the  earth  (Matt. 
v.  13). 

Jesus  taught  the  reality  of  heaven,  and  the 
certainty  and  blessedness  of  its  rewards,  but 
heaven  occupied  little  space  in  his  teachings. 
82 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

They  dealt  chiefly  with  this  world  and  with 
life  here  in  this  world.  He  evidently  believed 
that  the  best  way  to  fit  men  for  heaven  was 
to  bring  heaven  down  to  earth  and  to  get  men 
acclimated  to  it  right  here. 

The  common  conception  of  religion  which 
fixes  attention  on  heaven  as  the  great  desid- 
eratum, which  makes  this  life  simply  a  proba- 
tion, and  the  "salvation  of  the  soul"  its  great 
business,  is  entirely  foreign  to  the  teaching  of 
Jesus.  And  this  misconception  is  due  to 
having  forgotten  or  misconceived  the  kingdom 
of  God,  to  having  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that 
the  great  burden  of  Christ's  preaching  was 
an  ideal  world. 

When  we  pray,  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  we 
immediately  add,  "Thy  will  be  done  in  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven"  (Matt.  vi.  10).  This  latter 
petition  I  understand  to  be  Christ's  interpre- 
tation of  the  former.  A  little  later  in  the 
same  discourse  he  added :  "Not  every  one  that 
saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into 
83 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

the  kingdom  of  heaven;  but  he  that  doeth  the 
will  of  my  Father"  (Matt.  vii.  21).  He 
enters  into  the  kingdom,  or  the  kingdom  enters 
into  him  (which  is  the  same  thing),  who  does 
God's  will.  It  follows,  then,  that  the  king- 
dom comes  here  in  the  earth  just  so  fast  as 
God's  will  is  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven; 
that  is,  perfectly. 

To  teach  us  a  prayer  which  is  never  to  be 
answered,  and  which  it  is  impossible  to  answer, 
would  be  to  mock  us  cruelly.  We  are,  then, 
warranted  in  believing  that  the  earth  is  to  be 
brought  into  as  complete  subjection  to  the  will 
of  God  as  is  heaven  itself.  This  is  a  prophetic 
prayer,  which  will  certainly  receive  its  ful- 
filling answer;  and  that  will  certainly  make 
an  ideal  world,  which  will  be  the  kingdom 
fully  come. 

Now    how    much    is    implied    by    perfect 

obedience  to  the  will  of  God?     Law  is  an 

expression  of  the  will  of  the  governing  power. 

God's  will  is  embodied  in  his  laws.     When 

84 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

that  will  is  clone  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven, 
then  God's  laws  will  be  perfectly  obeyed  in 
all  the  earth.  But  is  God's  will  expressed 
only  in  the  moral  law?  What  of  the  laws  of 
nature?  Are  they  not  God's  laws?  If  not 
his  laws,  whose  are  they?  If  the  laws  of  the 
spiritual  world  are  God's  laws,  why  not  those 
of  the  physical  world? 

No  believer  will  deny  that  the  mineral, 
vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms  are  God's ;  and 
if  his  kingdoms,  why  not  his  kingdom?  They 
are  not  unrelated  and  foreign  to  each  other. 
They  are  built  one  on  another;  are  parts  of 
one  plan,  and,  together  with  the  spiritual, 
constitute  one  great  whole.  Wherever  God's 
laws  obtain,  there  God  reigns;  and  wherever 
God  reigns,  there  is  his  kingdom.  "His  king- 
dom ruleth  over  all"  (Ps.  ciii.  119). 

It    is    not    pretended    that    the    expression 

kingdom  of  God  was  used  in  this  broad  sense 

in  the  time  of  Christ,  or  that  obedience  to  the 

will  of  God  was  then  understood  to  include 

85 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

obedience  to  natural  laws.  There  was  of 
course  no  knowledge  of  natural  laws  in  that 
age  of  the  world;  our  conception  of  nature 
was  utterly  foreign  to  that  generation.  But 
if,  by  the  prophets  of  science,  God  has  made 
a  revelation  to  us  which  sheds  new  light  on 
his  relations  to  the  world,  and  if  that  new 
light  enriches  Scriptural  expressions,  shall  we 
reject  the  larger  meaning  because  it  was 
unknown  to  the  men  of  Bible  times? 

The  Psalmist  said,  "The  Lord  God  is  a  sun" 
(Ps.  lxxxiv.  n).  But  how  insignificant  was 
his  knowledge  of  the  sun  compared  with 
ours?  He  knew  that  it  gave  heat  and  light, 
and  that  was  all  he  knew.  He  did  not  know 
of  its  attracting  power;  he  had  never  con- 
ceived of  its  magnitude,  and  did  not  dream 
that  it  was  the  center  of  a  vast  system  of 
circling  worlds.  He  did  not  know  that  it 
lifted  the  clouds  into  the  sky  and  painted  them 
with  the  glory  of  the  morning  and  evening, 
or  that  it  gave  to  the  cataract  its  beauty  and 
86 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

power.  Science  has  enriched  this  Scriptural 
metaphor  for  us  a  thousand-fold.  Shall  we 
reject  this  added  meaning  because  it  was  un- 
known to  the  Psalmist? 

David  said :  "The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and 
the  fulness  thereof;  the  world,  and  they  that 
dwell  therein"  (Ps.  xxiv.  i).  But  how  large 
was  David's  world?  It  could  hardly  have 
been  as  large  as  that  of  Herodotus,  who  lived 
some  five  hundred  years  later.  He  resolved 
when  a  young  man  to  write  the  history  of 
the  nations,  and  to  visit  them  before  writing. 
He  acquainted  himself  with  the  islands  and 
coasts  of  Asia  Minor ;  he  visited  Egypt,  Pales- 
tine and  Phoenicia,  and  penetrated  as  far  east 
as  Babylon  and  Susa;  he  also  coasted  along 
the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  earth  was  an  island  with 
a  diameter  of  about  fifteen  hundred  miles 
from  east  to  west.  Are  we  to  infer  that  only 
that  little  world  which  David  knew  belongs 
to  the  Lord,  or  has  the  meaning  of  his  declara- 
87 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

tion  enlarged  with  man's  enlarging  knowledge 
of  the  earth? 

The  Master's  parting  charge  to  his  dis- 
ciples was,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel"  (Mark  xvi.  15).  "All  the 
world"  in  that  day  meant  the  western  fringe 
of  Asia,  the  northern  fringe  of  Africa  and 
the  southern  fringe  of  Europe.  Those  regions 
measured  the  obligations  of  the  disciples  who 
received  the  charge ;  but  do  they  measure  ours  ? 
In  like  manner,  whole  continents  of  meaning 
have  been  added  to  the  prayer,  "Thy  will  be 
done."  We  now  recognize  all  natural  laws 
as  expressions  of  the  divine  will,  whether  in 
the  physical,  intellectual  or  spiritual  world, 
so  that  the  words,  "Thy  will  be  done  in  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven,"  mean  to  us  perfect  obe- 
dience to  all  the  laws  of  body,  mind  and 
spirit,  resulting  in  a  perfected  manhood — a 
body,  worthy  to  be  the  temple  of  the  indwelling 
God,  more  beautiful  than  any  sanctuary  ever 
reared  by  hands ;  a  mind,  transparent  to  truth, 
88 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

and  like  the  diamond  radiant  in  its  light;  a 
heart  so  pure  that  its  unsullied  consciousness 
reflects  the  face  of  God.  They  mean  perfect 
obedience  to  all  the  laws  of  the  social  organism, 
and,  hence,  the  perfecting  of  society,  the  sanc- 
tifying of  all  human  relationships  and  institu- 
tions— a  civilization  whose  life  is  righteousness 
and  whose  law  is  love.  These  words  mean 
the  paradox  of  nature's  laws  obeyed  and, 
therefore,  nature  conquered — no  more  sickness, 
no  more  want,  but  the  paradise  of  plenty, 
health  and  peace,  foretold  by  the  ancient 
prophets  of  Israel.  They  mean  the  New 
Jerusalem,  come  down  "from  God,  out  of 
heaven" — heaven  itself,  but  heaven  on  earth; 
not  men  dwelling  with  God  in  a  heaven  above, 
but  God  dwelling  with  men  in  a  heaven  below 
(Rev.  xxi.  3,  4).  They  mean  the  kingdom 
fully  come,  the  ideal  world  of  Jesus  actualized. 
F.  Herbert  Stead  has  pointed  out  that  the 
words,  "The  kingdom  of  God,"  both  in  the 
Aramaic,  which  Jesus  spoke,  and  in  the  Greek 
89 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

of  the  New  Testament,  mean  literally  "the 
Royal  Rule  of  God."  And  this  Royal  Rule, 
as  it  is  realized  in  the  responsive  attitude  of 
its  subjects,  he  thus  happily  describes:  "A 
fellowship  of  Christ-like  love  which  is  to 
include  every  soul  that  is  willing  to  enter! 
A  community  which  embraces  every  other  true 
community  of  men,  which  contains  and  con- 
trols the  home,  the  state,  the  economic  system, 
the  fellowships  of  science,  letters,  art.  A  holy 
society  already  in  the  midst  of  men,  already 
shedding  its  brightness  over  human  life,  yet 
shining  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day; 
a  kingdom  progressively  realized  on  earth, 
perfectly  fulfilled  in  heaven.  A  girdle  of  love 
destined  to  clasp  into  unity  the  whole  of  man- 
kind, whatever  the  race,  the  color,  the  culture, 
and  to  bind  all  to  the  throne  and  heart  of  the 
Universal  Father! 

"Is  not  the  arrival  of  such  a  society  a  glo- 
rious piece  of  intelligence?     Is  it  not  indeed 
good  tidings  of  great  joy?     Among  all  the 
90 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

dreams  of  social  perfectness  which  the  fertile 
mind  of  man  has  flung  forth,  you  will  not  find 
one  to  equal  this  of  the  kingdom  of  God;  its 
breadth,  its  height,  its  completeness.  And  it 
is  no  mere  dream;  it  is  a  fact  in  process  of 
growing  fulfilment.  Gladdest  of  all  glad  tid- 
ings, it  is  open  to  all!"0 

*  "The  Kingdom  of  God."    Second  Part,  p.  70. 


91 


V 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD—  (Continued) 

COROLLARIES    OF    THE   TRUE   DOCTRINE 

Consider  now  some  inferences  and  results 
which  naturally  follow  the  true  doctrine  of  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

i.  That  kingdom  is  the  synthesis  of  the 
spiritual  and  the  physical;  and  the  correlation 
of  the  two  composes  many  an  ancient  quarrel. 

Truth  is  a  sphere;  and  though  it  has  oppo- 
site poles,  it  is  still  one.  But  men  can  see  only 
a  hemisphere  at  a  time;  hence  the  many  and 
long-lived  disputes  over  half  truths.  One  sees 
only  the  ideal;  another,  only  the  real.  One 
fixes  attention  on  the  inward;  another,  on  the 
92 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

outward.  One  would  save  the  soul ;  another 
strives  for  the  body.  One  says,  Change  the 
man's  inner  life,  and  he  will  change  his  sur- 
roundings; another  says,  Transform  environ- 
ment and  you  will  transform  character.  And 
while  they  bring  railing  accusations  against 
each  other,  the  world  waits  and  suffers. 

Both  parties  to  the  unending  dispute  are 
right  and  both  are  wrong.  Each  is  right  in 
the  half  truth  which  he  accepts,  and  each  is 
wrong  in  the  half  truth  which  he  rejects. 
Why  not  put  the  two  hemispheres  together, 
and  let  the  world  roll  on?  This  is  precisely 
what  the  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  does. 
In  it  the  spiritual  and  physical,  the  ideal  and 
the  real,  the  inward  and  the  outward,  the  soul 
and  the  body,  are  not  set  over  against  one 
artother  as  if  unrelated  and  even  antagonistic. 
They  are  seen  to  be  parts  of  one  whole,  won- 
derfully interrelated,  and  each  profoundly  in- 
fluencing the  other. 

One  of  the  most  serious  mistakes  of  the 
13 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

church  has  been  to  ignore  the  physical — a  mis- 
take she  would  never  have  made  if  she  had  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  her  Master.  Devoting 
herself  exclusively  to  the  spiritual,  she  is  like  a 
mother  who  in  her  anxiety  to  save  her  child's 
soul  neglects  his  food,  clothing,  exercise  and 
cleanliness,  with  the  result  that  there  is  not  left 
much  of  a  soul  to  save. 

The  rapid  growth  of  "Christian  Science," 
so-called,  is  a  reaction  from  a  Christianity 
which  ignores  the  physical,  and,  therefore,  does 
not  recognize  the  interrelation  of  soul  and 
body ;  precisely  as  Unitarianism  was  a  reaction 
from  an  orthodoxy  which  practically  ignored 
the  humanity  of  our  Lord;  and  reactions  are 
naturally  one-sided  and  extreme.  The  remedy 
for  them  is  to  preach  the  well-rounded  truth. 
We  are  slowly  learning,  by  costly  experience, 
that  no  great  Scriptural  truth  can  be  safely 
neglected;  sooner  or  later  it  appears  in  cari- 
cature. 

In  our  work  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom 
94 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

in  the  world,  we  should  give  to  the  physical 
the  same  place  in  our  thoughts,  our  plans,  our 
methods,  which  it  has  in  the  thoughts,  plans 
and  methods  of  God.  Let  us  recognize  its 
value  as  precisely  what  it  is.  It  is  mischievous 
either  to  overestimate  or  to  underestimate  its 
importance.  To  make  the  physical  supreme 
is  to  accept  the  "philosophy  of  dirt,"  and  to 
plunge  into  the  mire  of  materialism ;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  ignore  it  is  to  attempt  to 
build  a  superstructure  without  a  foundation. 

We  do  not  yet  appreciate  to  how  great  ex- 
tent physical  conditions  control  moral  progress. 
If  we  wish  to  determine  effects,  we  must  com- 
mand causes ;  and  science  has  shown  that  many 
phenomena  in  the  spiritual  world  spring  from 
causes  in  the  physical.  The  harvest  is  seen 
waving  in  the  air  and  the  sunlight,  but  its 
roots  are  down  in  the  ground. 

A  friend  of  mine,  an  Episcopal  rector,  de- 
cided a  few  years  ago  to  make  a  study  of 
tenement-house  conditions  at  first  hand.  In 
95 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

midsummer  he  took  quarters  in  "Hell's 
Kitchen,"  one  of  the  worst  tenements  in  New 
York.  He  awoke  from  his  first  night's  sleep 
with  a  severe  headache.  The  second  morning 
found  him  with  a  sore  throat.  Fearing  he 
was  about  to  be  sick,  he  went  into  the  country, 
where  a  few  clays  of  pure  air  restored  him  to 
a  normal  condition.  He  returned  to  the  tene- 
ment with  a  repetition  of  his  former  experi- 
ence, except  that  the  effect  of  the  poisonous 
air  became  gradually  less  obvious  as  the  sys- 
tem accommodated  itself  to  it.  Half  a  dozen 
times,  during  the  summer,  he  went  back  and 
forth  between  city  and  country,  and  each  time 
with  a  like  result ;  thus  demonstrating  that  the 
headache  and  sore  throat  were  caused  by  the 
foul  air  of  the  tenement.  He  observed  that 
each  morning  he  awoke  in  "Hell's  Kitchen*' 
every  nerve  in  his  body  was  crying  out  for 
some  stimulant ;  and  he  said  it  required  all  the 
self-control  he  possessed  not  to  go  into  a  saloon 
and  call  for  a  glass  of  whisky. 
96 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

Now  the  ordinary  dwellers  in  that  tenement 
have  not  the  established  habits,  the  strong  con- 
victions and  the  trained  will  of  my  friend; 
and  the  result  is  that  they  probably  take  the 
glass  of  whisky.  /Moral  suasion  is  impotent 
with  bad  ventilation./ 

The  following  incident  was  received  from 
the  late  Charles  Dudley  Warner,  who  had  made 
a  special  study  of  prisons  and  prison  discipline. 
At  the  Elmira  Reformatory,  some  years  ago, 
the  physician  in  charge  asked  to  have  a  num- 
ber of  the  worst  incorrigibles  turned  over  to 
him.  Eleven  of  the  toughest  cases  were  se- 
lected; they  were  young  fellows  who  would 
neither  work  nor  study,  and  who  resisted  all 
persuasion,  whether  moral  or  corporal.  The 
physician  first  gave  them  Turkish  baths.  Per- 
haps he  thought  he  could  sweat  out  of  them 
some  of  the  "original  sin."  Then  he  made  a 
careful  study  of  their  food,  and  fed  them 
scientifically,  meanwhile  giving  to  them  sys- 
tematic physical  training.  In  a  few  weeks' 
97 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

time  nine  out  of  the  eleven  had  voluntarily 
sought  admission  to  some  class  for  intellectual 
improvement.  The  higher  nature  had  been 
reached  through  the  lower. 

What  if  the  specialist  in  diseases  of  the  eye 
or  lungs  or  heart  knew  nothing  of  general 
anatomy?  The  man  who  knows  only  one 
organ  of  the  human  body  knows  none  at  all. 
Now,  body,  soul  and  spirit  do  not  live  apart, 
uninfluenced  by  each  other,  any  more  than  the 
separate  organs  of  the  animal  organism  live 
separate  and  independent  lives.  Modern  sci- 
ence has  demonstrated  that  the  physical,  intel- 
lectual and  moral  elements  in  man  are  most 
intimately  related.  It  is  practically  impos- 
sible to  elevate  one  of  these  elements  while  the 
others  remain  degraded. 

Precisely  here  do  we  discover  the  radical 
defect  of  former  philanthropic,  religious  and 
educational  methods.  They  have  generally 
been  addressed  to  only  one  element  in  man; 
hence  very  limited  success.  To  disregard  an 
98 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

important  factor  in  any  problem  is  to  invite 
failure.  To  leave  out  of  the  account  a  large 
fraction  of  the  man  is  unscientific. 

For  the  social  settlement  to  neglect  the  spir- 
itual is  even  a  greater  blunder  than  for  the 
church  to  neglect  the  physical.  There  is  a 
common  impression  that  unless  social  settle- 
ments are  non-religious  they  will  estrange 
Jews  and  Roman  Catholics.  This  has  been 
demonstrated  to  be  a  mistake.  When  settle- 
ment workers  make  no  use  of  religion,  they 
neglect  the  longest  lever  for  the  uplifting  of 
the  people. 

What  if  Christ's  Apostles  had  reasoned  as 
do  many  modern  Christians  ?  "We  know  that 
the  cross  and  the  Crucified  are  to  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block  and  to  the  Gentiles  foolish- 
ness. We  will,  therefore,  say  nothing  of 
either.  We  will  live  Christian  lives  before  all, 
we  will  show  a  Christian  spirit,  we  will  do  all 
the  good  we  can  in  every  way,  but  we  will  not 
preach  Christ  and  him  crucified  lest  we  alienate 
99 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

the  very  ones  we  wish  to  help."  Such  surrep- 
titious Christianity  could  never  have  produced 
a  Christian  civilization.  When  those  who  are 
trying  to  uplift  humanity  have  gained  the  true 
conception  of  the  kingdom,  they  will  neglect 
neither  the  spiritual  nor  the  physical ;  and  they 
will  find  that  the  latter,  correctly  understood 
and  wisely  used,  becomes  a  means  for  reaching 
and  influencing  the  former.  A  correct  under- 
standing of  the  kingdom  of  God,  therefore, 
serves  to  counteract  the  existing  tendency  to 
materialism. 

2.  Again,  the  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom 
points  out  the  relations  of  God  to  natural  law. 

When  the  world  was  young,  natural  laws 
were  of  course  unknown.  All  nature  was 
instinct  with  divine  life;  her  movements  were 
the  activities  of  the  gods,  whose  caprices  ac- 
counted for  whatever  was  unexpected.  The 
Israelite  ascribed  to  the  will  of  Jehovah  all  the 
processes  of  nature.  The  Old  Testament  is 
full  of  this  conception,  and  it  is  unmistakable 

IOO 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

in  the  New.  God  makes  his  sun  to  rise  (Matt, 
v.  45).  He  sends  his  rain  (Matt.  v.  45).  He 
feeds  the  fowls  (Matt.  vi.  26).  He  clothes 
the  grass  (Matt.  vi.  30).  This  was  the  first 
stage,  marked  by  the  simple  faith  of  childhood. 

A  second  began  with  the  discovery  of  nat- 
ural law ;  and  wherever  law  could  be  traced  a 
personal  will  was  no  longer  seen ;  only  the  ex- 
traordinary, for  which  science  was  as  yet 
unable  to  account,  was  referred  to  the  divine 
will;  and  at  length,  when  the  reign  of  law 
was  seen  to  be  universal,  many  quite  excluded 
God  from  his  universe.  But  we  are  now  enter- 
ing on  a  third  stage,  in  which  men  are  begin- 
ning to  see  that  natural  law  is  not  a  substitute 
for  the  divine  will,  but  an  expression  of  it. 
Will  without  law  and  law  without  will  are 
equally  false  and  equally  true.  Each  contains 
a  half  truth,  and  the  two  together  make  up  the 
rounded  whole  of  will  through  law. 

In  the  first  stage  there  was  the  confidence  ot 
untried  faith;  in  the  second,  the  triumph  of 
101 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

unbelief  over  an  unintelligent  faith;  in  the 
third,  the  triumph  of  intelligent  faith  over 
unbelief. 

Our  faith  in  God  is  not  faith  in  an  almighty 
magician  or  in  an  omnipotent  fairy.  We  do 
not  conceive  of  him  as  breaking  into  the  course 
of  nature  or  as  setting  it  aside.  Nor  do  we 
think  of  him  as  sitting  apart  from  the  universe 
and  watching  it  as  he  might  watch  an  infinite 
clock,  which  he  had  wound  up  and  left  to  run 
down.  God  is  immanent  in  nature  and  active 
in  human  affairs,  purposing,  guiding,  over- 
ruling, accomplishing.  Nature's  laws  are  not 
obstacles  to  him,  but  rather  instruments.  Are 
we  to  imagine  that  he  is  less  the  master  of 
these  laws  than  is  man?  Prof.  Tyndall  used 
to  pour  mercury  into  a  red-hot  crucible,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  from  that  crucible,  still  red- 
hot,  he  would  empty  the  mercury  a  frozen 
lump.  He  accomplished  this  result,  not  by 
violating  nature's  laws  nor  by  setting  them 
aside,  but  by  an  intimate  knowledge  and  skillful 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

use  of  them.  The  course  of  nature  is  not  fixed 
to  the  limited  intelligence  of  man;  why  should 
it  be  fixed  to  the  infinite  intelligence  of  God? 
We  boast  that  nature's  forces  have  become  our 
servants,  which  run  to  and  fro  in  the  earth  to 
do  our  bidding;  and  are  we  to  suppose  that 
God  is  the  helpless  slave  of  our  servants? 
Then  is  man  mightier  than  the  Almighty! 

A  misconception  of  the  kingdom  usually 
involves  a  misconception  of  the  world.  Those 
who  fail  to  recognize  the  physical  aspects  of 
the  kingdom  are  very  apt  to  suppose  that 
nature,  if  it  does  not  belong  to  the  kingdom 
of  God,  is  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  this  world, 
and  somehow  antagonistic  to  God.  Nature 
seems  to  come  between  him  and  us,  and  to  hide 
him  from  us.  But  when  we  learn  that  the 
kingdom  includes  the  physical  as  well  as  the 
spiritual,  and  that  they  are  so  intimately 
related  that  each  influences  the  other,  we  see 
that  he  can  control  either  only  as  he  controls 
both,  and  that  his  laws  embrace  the  one  as 
103 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

well  as  the  other;  that  he  is  God  of  the  whole 
universe,  and  not  of  a  fraction  of  it. 

Thus  nature  becomes  the  drapery  which 
hides  and  yet  reveals  the  Infinite  One.  We  see 
that  her  processes  are  his  methods;  her  har- 

(  monies,  his  reason ;  her  beauties,  his  thoughts ; 
her  wonders,  his  wisdom;  her  forces,  his 
power;  her  laws,  his  will. 

This  view  recognizes  God  in  history;  it 
makes  room  for  divine  providence  in  all  the 
incidents  of  daily  life;  it  affords  a  reasonable 
basis  for  prayer  and  confirms  our  faith  in  it. 
In  short,  it  makes  God  real  and  brings  him 
near,  which  is  precisely  what  we  all  need.  The 
life  which  has  no  consciousness  of  the  present 
God  and  Father  is  orphaned,  and  beggarly 
poor  and  blind;  is  lived  within  reach  of 
strength  which  it  never  appropriates;  is  lived 
in  the  very  presence  of  peace  and  comfort  and 
blessedness,  which  it  never  knows;  is  im- 
mersed in  a  divine  glory,  which  it  never  sees. 
Science  by  discovering  the  laws  of  nature 
104 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

reveals  the  divine  methods,  and  enables  us,  by 
adopting  them,  to  become  efficient  laborers  to- 
gether with  God  unto  the  kingdom,  and  to  have 
the  inspiration  of  that  blessed  consciousness. 

3.  Another  inference  from  the  true  doctrine 
of  the  kingdom  is  the  sacredness  of  the  so- 
called  secular.  The  old  and  false  and  lament- 
able, distinction  between  the  "sacred"  and  the 
"secular"  is  based  on  the  supposition  that  there 
is  a  line  of  cleavage  running  through  life  which 
divides  it  into  that  which  relates  to  God,  the 
eternal  life,  the  soul  and  religion  on  the  one 
hand,  and  on  the  other,  that  which  relates  to 
the  world,  the  present  life,  the  body  and  the 
temporal.  The  former  are  "sacred,"  the  latter 
are  "secular";  and  between  the  two  groups 
there  is  supposed  to  be  a  natural  antagonism. 
Thus  there  is  enmity  between  God  and  the 
world,  and  conflicting  interests  between  the 
life  to  come  and  this  life,  between  soul  and 
body,  between  things  religious  and  things 
temporal. 

105 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

This  pernicious  misconception  of  God,  of 
life,  and  of  religion  is  possible  only  in  con- 
nection with  a  radically  wrong  conception  of 
the  kingdom  of  God.  When  we  see  that  Jesus 
came  and  lived  and  died  that  God's  will  might 
be  perfectly  done  in  the  earth ;  that  is,  that  this 
might  be  an  ideal  world,  when  we  see  that 
this  life  is  to  be  perfected  like  the  other,  that 
soul  and  body  are  mutually  dependent,  that 
the  spiritual  and  the  physical  alike  belong  to 
the  kingdom  of  God,  that  the  temporal  may  be 
and  ought  to  be  religious,  that  every  act, 
whether  we  eat  or  drink  or  whatever  we  do, 
should  be  done  to  the  glory  of  God,  then  we 
see  that  there  is  no  room  for  the  so-called 
"secular,"  and  that  whatever  cannot  be  done 
to  God's  glory  and  the  upbuilding  of  the  king- 
dom is  forbidden  and  unholy. 

"There  are  no  gentile  oaks,  no  pagan  pines; 
The  grass  beneath  our  feet  is  Christian  grass." 

4.  Again,  the  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom 
106 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

of  God  makes  obvious  the  true  mission  of  the 
church. 

The  church  is  the  body  of  which  Christ  is 
the  head.  The  body  and  its  members  are 
instruments  of  the  head,  and  are  intended  to 
execute  its  purposes.  The  church  was  organ- 
ized to  carry  on  the  work  which  Christ  began. 
If  her  great  object  in  the  world  is  different 
from  his,  then  she  is  disloyal  to  her  Master. 
If  the  great  object  of  his  endeavor  was  the 
kingdom  of  God,  then  the  church  must  be  but 
a  means  to  the  kingdom  as  an  end.  An 
erroneous  conception  of  the  kingdom  leads  to 
an  erroneous  conception  of  the  church,  and  a 
narrow  conception  of  the  kingdom  results  in 
a  narrow  conception  of  the  mission  of  the 
church. 

If  the  kingdom  were  synonymous  with 
heaven,  then  would  it  be  the  mission  of  the 
church  to  get  individual  souls  safely  trans- 
ported from  earth  to  heaven.  If  it  were  ex- 
clusively spiritual,  sustaining  no  relation  to  the 
107 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

physical  except  that  of  antagonism,  then  would 
the  church  rightly  devote  herself  exclusively 
to  the  saving  of  souls.  If  the  kingdom  were 
identical  with  the  visible  church,  then  would 
the  church  properly  devote  herself  to  her  own 
upbuilding.  This  represents  the  actual  con- 
ception and  practice  of  most  churches.  Indeed, 
for  many  generations  the  kingdom  has  been 
lost  sight  of  and  the  church  has  taken  its  place. 
The  pulpit  has  had  as  little  to  say  of  the  king- 
dom as  Jesus  had  to  say  of  the  church,  and 
it  has  had  as  much  to  say  of  the  church  as 
Jesus  had  to  say  of  the  kingdom. 

When  it  is  generally  understood  that  the 
kingdom  and  the  church*  are  not  the  same, 
and  that  the  latter  is  only  a  means  to  the 
former  as  an  end;  and  when  it  is  generally 
seen  that  the  kingdom  is  this  world  idealized, 
and  that  the  kingdom  comes  just  so  fast  as 
Christ's  ideal  for  the  world  is  actualized,  then 
the  church  will  change  her  aims  and  adapt 
her  methods  accordingly;  she  will  seek  to  save 
108 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

men  rather  than  souls,  and  she  will  endeavor 
to  discharge  her  mission  to  society  as  well  as 
to  the  individual.  She  will  discover  that  it 
is  much  wiser  to  clean  up  the  "mud  puddle" 
so  that  the  jewels  will  no  longer  get  lost  than 
it  is  to  devote  all  of  her  time  to  recovering  a 
small  proportion  of  the  lost  jewels. 

The  church's  narrow  conception  of  her  mis- 
sion has  resulted  in  an  unholy  divorce  between 
religion  and  morals,  between  Christianity  and 
philanthropy.  Our  relations  with  God  cannot 
be  right,  if  our  relations  with  our  fellow  men 
are  wrong.  Religion  which  is  immoral  is 
irreligious;  and  morals  which  are  irreligious 
are  immoral.  The  Christianity  which  is  not 
philanthropic  is  as  defective  as  the  philanthropy 
which  is  not  Christian.  Now  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  the  synthesis  of  religion  and  morals, 
of  Christianity  and  philanthropy.  When, 
therefore,  the  church  apprehends  the  true  doc- 
trine of  the  kingdom,  she  will  no  longer  put 
asunder  what  God  has  joined  together. 
109 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

The  very  common  misconception  that  her 
own  upbuilding  is  the  proper  mission  of  the 
church  is  due  to  identifying  the  church  with 
the  kingdom,  or  to  losing  sight  of  the  king- 
dom altogether;  and  it  is  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  unseemly  strifes  of  sectarianism. 
There  are  many  churches;  there  is  but  one 
kingdom.  As  long  as  the  churches  seek  each 
to  upbuild  herself,  they  will  be  rivals,  and  will 
draw  apart.  When  they  all  seek  to  upbuild 
the  kingdom  of  God,  they  will  become  allies, 
and  will  draw  together.  WThen  we  emphasize 
citizenship  in  the  kingdom  far  more  than 
membership  in  the  church,  it  will  be  a  long 
step  toward  Christian  union.  In  his  last  mes- 
sage to  the  church  Philip  Schaff  said:  "The 
reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  ended  in 
division;  the  reformation  of  the  twentieth 
century  will  end  in  reunion."  But  the  new 
reformation  will  not  be  well  begun  until  the 
church  gains  the  true  conception  of  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

no 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

5.  Again,  the  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom 
affords  the  greatest  possible  inspiration. 

Our  best  hours  are  a  revelation  of  what  life 
may  be  when  the  spiritual  dominates,  and  we 
become  conscious  of  high  fellowship  with  the 
Highest.  If  we  could  only  keep  ourselves  up 
to  our  best  selves,  could  only  make  our  supreme 
hours  habitual,  we  should  abide  with  the 
Master  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration. 
But  we  may  build  no  tabernacles  there;  we 
descend  from  the  Mount  and  find  society  strug- 
gling with  many  demons  which  must  be  cast 
out.  These  are  the  devils  of  selfishness  and 
meanness,  of  vice  and  crime,  of  besotted  ignor- 
ance and  low-mindedness,  of  injustice  and 
oppression;  and  how  many  a  stout  heart  has 
lost  courage  in  the  presence  of  such  sin  and 
woe?  And  how  often  does  the  sense  of  God 
and  of  his  power  and  love  grow  distant  and 
dim?  We  need  abiding  inspirations  which 
shall  make  us  strong  and  patient,  and  which 
like  vestal  virgins  shall  keep  the  sacred  flame 
Ml 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

of  faith  and  zeal  ever  burning.  Such  inspira- 
tions come  from  the  true  doctrine  of  the 
kingdom. 

It  affords  the  inspiration  of  the  widest  pos- 
sible outlook.  Thoreau  says :  "Our  horizon  is 
never  quite  at  our  elbows."  But  the  horizon  of 
the  man  in  a  pit  is  only  large  enough  to  take  in 
the  hole  where  he  is.  Lifting  a  man  out  of 
the  pit  of  selfishness  to  the  mountain-top 
whence  can  be  seen  with  the  eye  of  faith  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  become  the  kingdom 
of  our  Lord  is  like  transferring  a  man  from  the 
bottom  of  a  well  to  the  top  of  the  Matterhorn. 
He  finds  himself  in  another  world,  the  grand- 
eur and  beauty  of  which  he  had  never  con- 
ceived. We  grow  or  shrivel  to  the  measure  of 
our  desires  and  purposes.  If  they  are  centered 
in  self,  we  become  narrower  as  we  grow  older. 
As  our  thoughts,  our  desires,  our  aims  are 
fixed  on  a  small  object,  we  take  a  narrow  view 
of  life.  Whatever  concerns  us  is  magnified; 
all  else  is  minimized;  thus  is  our  perspective 
112 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

vitiated  and  shortened;  and  as  character  is 
intensified  with  age,  our  horizon  becomes  ever 
more  contracted. 

When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  kingdom  of 
God  becomes  the  first  object  of  daily  and 
hourly  endeavor,  the  whole  world  comes  into 
view.  Our  thoughts,  our  desires,  our  hopes, 
our  endeavors  are  enlarged  to  include  all  races, 
all  nations  and  all  future  generations.  God's 
working  plan  is  revealed  to  us;  we  discern 
meaning  and  purpose  in  the  processes  of 
nature  and  in  the  ongoing  of  history.  We 
become  interested  in  all  that  ministers  to  the 
progress  of  civilization.  Whatever  concerns 
humanity  concerns  us.  All  things  have  become 
ours,  for  we  are  heirs  of  the  kingdom,  "having 
nothing  and  yet  possessing  all  things"  (II.  Cor. 
vi.  10).  As  an  organized  society,  the  king- 
dom is  a  whole,  and  every  part  serves  every 
other  part.  Thus  the  movements  of  civiliza- 
tion on  the  other  side  of  the  globe — things 
great  and  small,  the  Suez  Canal  and  the  toil 
"3 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

of  a  peasant — touch  us  and  interest  us,  because 
as  citizens  of  the  kingdom  we  have  a  proprie- 
tary right  in  the  whole. 

Under  the  divine  direction  of  Him,  to  whom 
has  been  given  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth, 
the  myriad  forces  of  society  are  working  for 
the  great  consummation.  The  selfish  plans  of 
governments,  the  machinations  of  politicians, 
the  schemes  of  competing  corporations  are  all 
being  overruled  for  the  kingdom;  the  million 
are  unconsciously  furthering  it;  the  mighty 
engines  are  harnessed  for  it,  the  looms  are 
weaving  for  it,  the  mills  are  grinding  for  it; 
it  is  the  outcome  of  all  activity,  the  goal  of  all 
progress. 

The  great  laws  of  the  universe  meet  in  your 
backyard  and  may  be  studied  there.  The 
pebble  and  the  grain  of  sand  influence  the  sun 
and  the  stars.  In  like  manner  the  ordinary 
and  the  narrow  in  life  are  widely  and  nobly 
related,  so  that  the  every-day  round  and  the 
commonplace  are  glorified  with  new  meanings 
114 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

and  new  motives  when  they  are  seen  to  be  a 
part  of  an  all-embracing-  plan,  which  God  is 
now  working  out  in  the  world. 

The  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  affords 
the  inspiration  of  a  glorious  ideal  and  a  firm 
confidence  that  it  will  surely  be  realized.  This 
doctrine  has  no  room  for  any  "necessary"  or 
"permanent"  evils.  It  bids  us  recognize  every 
existing  evil,  and  never  doubt  that  each  is 
doomed.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  Utopia 
made  rational  and  destined  to  be  made  actual. 
It  is  the  new  social  ideal  perfected.  It  is  the 
New  Jerusalem,  come  down  from  God  out  of 
heaven  and  resplendent  with  his  glory.  The 
certainty  of  such  a  consummation  inspires 
boundless  patience  and  courage.  On  the  banks 
of  the  Kuruman,  in  the  density  of  African 
heathenism,  Robert  and  Mary  Moffat  toiled  on 
for  ten  years  without  a  single  convert.  Four 
hundred  miles  beyond  the  frontier  of  civiliza- 
tion, alone  in  the  midst  of  savages,  their  faith 
never  faltered.  At  a  time  when  there  was 
"5 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

"no  glimmer  of  the  dawn"  a  letter  was  received 
from  a  friend  in  far-off  England,  asking  if 
there  was  anything  of  use  which  could  be  sent. 
The  significant  answer  of  Mary  Moffat  was : 
"Send  us  a  communion  service;  we  shall  want 
it  some  day."  It  came  three  years  later,  the 
day  before  the  first  converts  were  baptized. 

The  confidence  of  those  who  toil  for  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom  cannot  be  put  to  shame 
until  the  love  and  power  and  wisdom  of  God 
have  failed. 

This  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  affords  us  the 
inspiration  of  the  noblest  fellowship. 

If  our  aim  is  the  upbuilding  of  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  if  our  motive  is  love,  then  however 
obscure  our  work,  or  however  unappreciated, 
whatever  our  disappointments  or  seeming  fail- 
ures, our  aim  and  motive  identify  us  with  the 
prophets  of  old,  with  the  great  souls  of  every 
age,  with  Jesus,  the  Christ,  with  the  Father 
himself,  whose  friends  and  co-laborers  we  are. 
We  have  with  them  the  fellowship  of  the  same 
116 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

aim — an  ideal  world;  we  have  the  fellowship 
of  the  same  motive — a  disinterested  love;  we 
have  the  fellowship  of  the  same  spirit — that 
of  joyous  service  and  of  glad  sacrifice;  we 
have  the  fellowship  of  the  same  great  hope — a 
sinless  and  a  tearless  world;  and  we  shall  for- 
ever have  the  fellowship  of  the  same  joy — the 
blessed  fruition  of  the  kingdom  fully  come. 


117 


VI 
THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

The  rediscovery  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
has  been  accompanied  by  the  rediscovery  of 
the  social  teachings  of  Jesus. 

Some  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  ago  there 
was  a  meeting  of  New  York  clergymen  who 
were  especially  interested  in  social  problems, 
and  who  have  been  leaders  in  the  readjustment 
of  Christian  thought  and  work,  which  is  now 
in  progress.  There  were  about  a  dozen  pres- 
ent, and  among  them  were  men  of  national  and 
international  reputation  and  influence.  One  of 
the  leaders  expressed  his  perplexity  and  regret 
118 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

that  he  could  not  find  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
any  social  laws!  And  what  is  still  more  sur- 
prising, the  statement  passed  unchallenged,  so 
completely  had  leaders  of  Christian  thought 
lost  sight  of  the  social  aspects  of  Christianity. 
Since  then  a  shelf  full  of  books  has  been 
written  on  the  social  teachings  of  Jesus. 

When  civilization  was  individualistic,  men 
went  to  the  New  Testament  for  light  on  the 
problems  of  the  individual,  and  found  what 
they  sought.  When  industry  ceased  to  be 
individualistic  and  became  collective  it  wrought 
a  corresponding  change  in  civilization.  With 
this  social  revolution  came  the  consciousness 
of  social  needs  and  the  recognition  of  social 
problems;  and  when  men  went  to  the  Bible 
for  light  on  these  problems,  new  light  broke 
forth  from  the  Word  of  God. 

A    social    organization    implies    organizing 

principles,     and     a     kingdom     implies     laws. 

Jesus  laid  hold  of  three  fundamental   social 

principles,  and  promulgated  them  as  the  funda- 

119 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 
mental   laws   of   the   kingdom   of   God,    viz., 

SERVICE,    SACRIFICE   and    LOVE.10 

THE   LAW    OF   SERVICE. 

So  comprehensive  is  this  law  that  its  span 
includes  both  the  spiritual  and  the  natural 
world.  The  obedience  yielded  to  it  by  nature 
is  unconscious  and  of  course  unmoral.  It  is 
a  prophecy  of  a  higher  service  which  may  be 
rendered  or  refused  by  conscious  man.  Wher- 
ever there  is  human  association  there  is  service 
of  some  sort.  Roman  civilization  was  based 
on  the  compulsory  service  of  the  slave.  Our 
modern,  industrial  civilization  is  based  on  the 
compensated  service  of  the  employee. 

This  principle  of  service,  illustrated  in 
nature  and  in  human  society,  Jesus  laid  hold  of, 

10 For  a  fuller  discussion  of  these  laws,  see  my  "The 
Times  and  Young  Men,"  where  a  chapter  is  devoted  to 
each.  It  is  there  shown  that  these  laws  belong  to  the 
natural  as  well  as  to  the  spiritual  world,  or  that  they 
are  at  least  foreshadowed  in  nature;  and  that  these 
universal  laws,  binding  on  both  the  spiritual  and  the 
physical,  are  doubly  binding  on  man,  in  whom  the  spir- 
itual and  the  physical  meet. 

1 20 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

ennobled,  Christianized,  and  made  one  of  the 
fundamental  laws  of  the  world  society  which 
he  established.  In  service,  as  in  all  else  that  he 
required  of  his  disciples,  he  himself  afforded 
the  supreme  example.  Though  he  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  he  made 
himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him 
the  form  of  a  servant  (Phil.  ii.  6,  7).  He 
said  to  his  disciples :  "I  am  among  you  as  he 
that  serveth"  (Luke  xxii.  2j).  "The  Son  of 
man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister"  (Matt.  xx.  28).  "The  disciple  is 
not  above  his  master,  nor  the  servant  above 
his  lord"  (Matt.  x.  24).  "As  my  Father  hath 
sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you"  (Jno.  xx.  21). 
He  was  sent  to  minister;  he  sent  forth  his 
disciples  to  minister.  And  he  taught  that  the 
final  principle  of  judgment,  to  be  applied  to 
all  nations,  was  that  of  ministration.  In  the 
picture  which  he  gives  of  the  last  great  court, 
men  are  acquitted  or  condemned  according  as 
they  had  served  or  failed  to  serve. 
121 


.  THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

Jesus  did  not  look  on  service  as  a  disagree- 
able necessity  which  all  should  endure  alike, 
or  according  to  the  ability  of  each,  nor  did 
he  teach  that  it  was  to  be  rendered  for  com- 
pensation. It  was,  instead,  to  be  regarded  as 
a  privilege.  He  found  servitude  a  badge  of 
dishonor;  he  made  it  the  badge  of  distinction. 
"Whosoever  will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him 
be  your  servant"  (Matt.  xx.  27).  In  the  king- 
dom which  Jesus  set  up,  he  who  ranks  all  others 
is  not  he  who  knows  most,  nor  he  who  prays 
most,  nor  he  who  enjoys  the  greatest  ecstasies, 
nor  he  who  is  most  served,  but  he  who  serves 
most.  This  distinction  marks  the  law  of  ser- 
vice not  as  incidental,  but  fundamental  in  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

It  is  important  to  make  a  clear  distinction 
between  commercial  service  and  Christian  ser- 
vice. In  every  civilized  society  there  are  a 
thousand  services,  an  exchange  of  which  is 
effected  through  the  common  medium  of 
money,  which  represents  them  all.     A  funda- 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

mental  law  of  commerce  is  that  of  demand 
and  supply.  Goods  may  be  offered  for  sale 
which  cost  much  time,  skill  and  money,  but 
if  they  are  not  wanted  they  have  no  com- 
mercial value.  Another  fundamental  law  of 
commerce  is  that  of  exchange — value  for 
value.  Markets  may  be  glutted  with  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  men  may  be  perishing 
for  lack  of  them,  but,  no  matter  how  great 
men's  need  may  be,  if  they  have  nothing  to 
offer  in  exchange,  business  stagnates.  These 
two  laws  of  the  commercial  world  fix  atten- 
tion, not  on  the  motive  of  the  service,  but 
on  the  service  itself  and  its  proposed  compen- 
sation. Motive  and  need  are  of  no  consequence 
except  as  they  may  affect  the  quality  of  the 
service  or  the  demand  for  it.  The  essential 
thing  is  the  act  or  the  article  which  is  offered 
for  exchange. 

Jesus,  on  the  contrary,  fixes  attention,  not 
on  the  act,  but  on  the  motive  of  the  act.     He 
devotes  a  large  part  of  the   Sermon  on  the 
123 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

Mount  to  showing  that  in  the  kingdom  of 
God  the  essence  of  obedience  and  disobedience 
is  to  be  found  in  the  spirit,  motive  and  pur- 
pose (Matt.  v.  20-48,  vi.  1-18). 

"He  also  serves  who  only  stands  and  waits." 

Commercial  service  aims  to  supply  a  demand; 
Christian  service  aims  to  meet  a  need.  The 
former  may  be  selfish;  the  latter  is  unselfish. 
The  usual  object  of  commercial  service  is 
gain;  the  object  of  Christian  service  is  use- 
fulness, and  its  natural  reward  is  a  larger 
opportunity  to  serve  and  an  increased  ability 
for  service,  together  with  the  satisfaction  of 
having  served. 

When  a  man  is  working  simply  for  his 
wages  or  his  salary,  and  he  loses  the  same,  his 
loss  is  complete.  But  if  he  is  working  to 
serve  and  fails  to  get  his  wage,  his  loss,  how- 
ever important  it  may  be,  is  only  incidental 
after  all ;  his  real  object  has  been  accomplished 
and  that  is  his  real  reward.  In  like  manner, 
124 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

if  a  man  is  working  for  influence  or  fame,  and 
fails  to  receive  the  recognition  to  which  his 
services  entitle  him,  he  suffers  defeat  and  dis- 
appointment. But  if  his  object  is  to  serve,  he 
may  congratulate  himself  on  his  success, 
though  others  wear  his  laurels,  and  he  remains 
unhonored  and  unknown.  They  get  the  shell, 
and  he  the  kernel.  Their  award  is  external 
and  may  be  lost  any  day;  while  his  is  internal 
and  eternal. 

Of  course  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  it  is 
unchristian  to  receive  compensation  for  ser- 
vice ;  but  I  do  mean  to  say  that  the  compensa- 
tion should  not  be  the  predominant  motive. 
Whether  one  serves  for  the  sake  of  the 
kingdom  or  for  the  sake  of  the  compensation 
makes  all  the  difference  between  the  Christian 
spirit  and  the  commercial  spirit.  The  Chris- 
tian spirit  receives,  but  in  order  that  it  may 
give;  the  commercial  spirit  gives,  but  in  order 
that  it  may  receive. 

The  Apostle  Peter  wrote :  "As  every  man 
125 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

hath  received  the  gift,  even  so  minister  the 
same  one  to  another,  as  good  stewards  of  the 
manifold  grace  of  God"  (I.  Pet.  iv.  10).  The 
spirit  of  service  recognizes  every  good  gift 
that  is  bestowed  on  us  by  God's  manifold  grace, 
as  coming  under  the  law  of  stewardship.  Our 
substance,  our  time,  our  powers,  our  opportuni- 
ties are  all  entrusted  to  us  for  service.  Life 
itself  is  a  sacred  trust.  It  has  come  to  us 
from  out  the  long  past  with  its  unspeakably 
precious  store,  garnered  from  every  generation 
back  to  the  beginning  of  life.  What  this 
treasure  has  cost  in  time  cannot  be  reckoned; 
what  it  has  cost  in  suffering  cannot  be  con- 
ceived. This  treasure  is  all  that  is  contained 
in  the  wonderful  word  heredity.  It  has  not 
been  slowly  and  painfully  gathered  throughout 
the  ages  that  we  might  squander  it  on  our 
pleasures.  We  are  its  trustees  for  future  gen- 
erations, and  are  bound  to  hand  on  to  them 
this  precious  legacy,  not  only  unimpaired  but 
enriched.  The  future  of  humanity  depends  on 
126 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

the  way  in  which  each  generation  fulfills  this 
trust.  The  whole  life  of  every  disciple  of 
Christ  is  to  be  spent,  like  that  of  his  Master, 
in  the  service  of  the  kingdom,  and  in  hasten- 
ing its  full  coming  in  the  earth.  Such  service 
implies  self-abnegation;  hence  the  second  great 
law  of  the  kingdom, 

THE  LAW  OF  SACRIFICE. 

This  law  is  all-comprehending;  it  includes 
the  entire  man.  Jesus  said :  "If  any  man  will 
come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take 
up  his  cross  daily  and  follow  me"  (Luke  ix. 
23).  It  is  one  thing  for  a  man  to  deny  him- 
self, and  a  very  different  thing  for  a  man  to 
deny  himself.  No  one  wins  success  of  any 
sort  without  some  measure  of  self-denial.  The 
champion  of  the  prize-ring  has  denied  himself 
many  things;  and  has  sacrificed  his  intellectual 
and  spiritual  growth  to  his  physical  develop- 
ment. But  this  is  not  Christian  self-sacrifice. 
Nor  is  the  sacrifice  of  every  natural  inclination 
127 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

and  the  crucifixion  of  every  noble  desire  in 
order  to  acquire  wealth  any  more  Christian. 
Again,  a  man  may  sacrifice  body  and  soul  to 
gratify  his  passion  for  knowledge  or  art.  He 
is  not  so  mean  as  the  miser,  nor  so  low  as  the 
prize-fighter,  but  his  self-denial  is  no  more 
Christian  than  theirs.  In  each  case,  one  part 
of  the  man  has  been  denied  for  the  sake  of 
another  part.  He  has  not  denied  himself,  but 
only  a  fraction  of  himself.  It  is  self-abnega- 
tion of  which  Christ  is  speaking.  It  is  the 
death  of  self-will  which  he  demands.  This 
is  made  clear  by  the  context.  Whoever  would 
be  a  follower  of  Christ  must  accept  the  cross. 
"That  is  one  of  the  great  words  of  the  New 
Testament,  but  it  has  been  belittled  in  common 
usage.  We  talk  about  our  'crosses,'  meaning 
thereby  anything  that  crosses  our  inclination. 
But  the  word  never  means  anything  so  meager 
as  that  in  the  Bible.  It  never  occurs  there  in 
the  plural.  It  always  means  one  thing,  as  the 
word  'gallows'  means  one  thing,  and  that  is 
128 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

death."11  When  under  Roman  rule  a  man  was 
sentenced  to  crucifixion  he  was  compelled  to 
bear  his  cross  to  the  appointed  place  of  death. 
To  "take  one's  cross"  meant  to  start  for  the 
place  of  execution.  Let  him  "take  up  his 
cross  and  follow  me."  Follow  him  where? 
To  Golgotha,  whither  he  bore  his  cross,  there 
to  be  crucified  with  him.  The  man  who 
knows  nothing  of  Golgotha  knows  nothing  of 
Christian  discipleship.  If  he  refuses  to  bear 
his  cross  to  Calvary,  he  forsakes  the  path 
which  Christ  trod.  If  he  "saves  his  life"  by 
avoiding  the  cross,  he  loses  it;  it  is  only  by 
losing  his  life  that  he  finds  it  (Luke  ix.  24). 
If  he  would  live,  he  must  die.  It  is  only  as 
he  dies  to  self  that  he  enters  into  the  kingdom 
of  God  by  the  new  birth.  Only  when  self- 
will  is  surrendered  is  sin  surrendered,  for 
self-will  is  the  very  essence  of  sin.  A  man 
may  give  up  many  sins  without  giving  up  sin. 

11  "The  Times  and  Young  Men,"  p.  80. 
129 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

The  former  is  reformation;  the  latter  is  con- 
version. Giving  up  sins  means  new  habits; 
giving  up  sin  means  a  new  life. 

It  is  the  will  which  determines  character. 
The  will  is  the  essential  man;  so  that  the  sur- 
render of  the  will  is  the  surrender  of  self, 
and  nothing  else  is.  A  man  may  give  his 
millions  without  giving  himself.  But 
"The  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare." 

There  is  nothing  so  hard  for  human  nature 
as  to  preserve  its  integrity  in  dealing  with 
God.  We  attempt  to  compromise.  We  offer 
him  a  part — a  part  of  our  time,  a  part  of  our 
endeavors,  a  part  of  our  love,  a  part  of  our 
substance,  and  usually  a  very  small  part.  If 
a  man  gives  a  tenth,  he  is  considered  a  shining 
example  of  benevolence.  But  if  God  has  a 
claim  on  one-tenth,  he  has  precisely  the  same 
claim  on  the  remaining  nine-tenths.  He  did 
not  one-tenth  create  us  and  we  nine-tenths 
create  ourselves.  If  he  has  any  claim  on  us, 
he  has  all  claim  on  us. 
130 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

"Next  to  sincerity,  remember  still, 

Thou  must  resolve  upon  integrity; 
God  will  have  all  thou  hast;  thy  mind,  thy  will, 
Thy  thoughts,  thy  words,  thy  works."  12 

Some  people  have  a  "self-denial  week"  every 
year.  They  are  only  one  fifty-second  part 
right.  Every  week  ought  to  be  a  "self-denial 
week."  Christ  taught  that  there  ought  to  be 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  self-denial  days 
every  year.  "If  any  man  will  come  after  me, 
let  him  deny  himself  and  take  up  his  cross 
daily  and  follow  me"  (Luke  ix.  23).  He  who 
follows  Christ  only  one  week  in  the  year  is 
not  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  for  he  turns 
back.  The  whole  man  is  to  be  given  to  the 
service  of  the  kingdom  all  the  time.  Nothing 
less  is  honest;  nothing  less  is  acceptable  to 
God.  He  will  not  have  any  portion  of  a 
divided  heart.  In  fact,  when  only  a  part  is 
offered,  no  part  is  really  given.  When  only 
a  part  is  offered,  it  is  offered  for  a  considera- 
tion; and  that  is  trading,   not  giving.     If  I 

"George  Herbert. 
131 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

give  in  order  to  get,  I  am  not  giving  at  all, 
I  am  investing.  That  is  commercialism,  not 
Christianity.  Jesus  does  not  say  that  he  who 
loses  his  life  with  a  view  to  gaining  it  shall 
save  it.  Not  "Whosoever  shall  lose  his  life 
for"  his  own  sake,  but  for  "my  sake,  the  same 
shall  save  it"  (Luke  ix.  24). 

In  sacrifice  as  in  service,  the  essential  thing 
is  not  the  act  but  the  spirit.  The  spirit  of 
sacrifice  gives  all,  and  longs  for  more  to  fill 
the  measure  of  the  world's  sore  need — gives 
all  of  self  and  all  of  substance.  The  consecra- 
tion of  all  substance  does  not  mean  getting 
rid  of  all  substance,  any  more  than  the  con- 
secration of  life  means  the  getting  rid  of  life. 
It  means  the  devotion  of  both  to  the  service 
of  the  kingdom.  All  claim  to  ownership  is 
renounced.  The  use  of  time  and  of  substance 
and  of  powers  is  now  simply  a  question  of 
administration.  Thus  the  law  of  Christian 
sacrifice,  like  that  of  Christian  service,  leads  us 
to  Christian  stewardship. 
132 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  insistence  on 
the  completeness  of  the  sacrifice  is  in  any 
respect  arbitrary.  It  is  in  entire  harmony 
with  the  universe  of  God.  The  oneness  of 
the  physical  universe  is  perfect.  There  are  no 
disorderly  stars,  no  treasonable  suns  nor  sys- 
tems ;  no  atoms  rebel  against  the  laws  of  their 
nature.  There  is  perfect  obedience,  perfect 
order,  perfect  harmony;  and  this  is  the  "music 
of  the  spheres,"  which  began  when  the  morn- 
ing stars  first  sang  together  and  all  the  sons 
of  God  shouted  for  joy. 

But  in  all  this  perfect  obedience  there  is 
no  moral  beauty.  Suns  and  systems  cannot 
disobey.  God,  therefore,  created  wills.  There 
can  be  no  moral  beauty  without  the  obedience 
of  wills  which  are  free  to  disobey.  Thus  with 
the  possibility  of  moral  harmony  came  the 
possibility  of  moral  discord,  which  is  intro- 
duced by  self-will.  If  a  thousand  men  live 
each  for  himself,  they  have  a  thousand  different 
ends  in  view,  a  thousand  conflicting  interests, 
133 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

a  thousand  different  wills,  a  thousand  different 
centers ;  and  as  each  life  moves  toward  its  own 
center  it  moves  away  from  all  the  others. 
Thus  selfishness  is  the  great  disintegrating 
force  in  the  universe,  and  the  cause  of  discord. 
Only  when  these  thousand  wills  all  have  the 
same  supreme  object  (that  is,  only  when  self- 
will  has  been  crucified)  can  there  be  perfect 
organization  around  one  center,  and  then  there 
is  perfect  moral  harmony. 

The  oneness  of  the  universe  is  possible 
because  its  parts  are  interrelated  and  inter- 
dependent. Inorganic  matter  gives  itself  to  the 
organic,  the  mould  gives  itself  to  the  vegetable, 
the  vegetable  to  the  animal,  the  animal  to  man, 
man  to  God,  and  God  is  ever  giving  himself 
to  the  objects  of  his  creation.  Thus  the  divine 
order  reveals  a  vast  endless  chain  of  receiving 
and  giving,  each  link  receiving  service  and 
sacrifice  that  it  may  give  service  and  sacrifice. 
Of  course  unconscious  matter  and  unintelligent 
life  can  give  only  unconsciously,  as  the  stars 
134 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

obey.  But  it  is  the  high  prerogative  of  con- 
scious and  intelligent  man,  like  God  himself, 
to  offer  conscious  and  intelligent  service  and 
sacrifice.  When  man  is  thus  in  glad  harmony 
with  the  laws  of  his  own  nature  and  of  the 
universe,  he  receives  according  to  his. need  that 
he  may  give  according  to  his  ability;  receives 
food  that  he  may  give  strength,  receives 
knowledge  that  he  may  give  it  forth  as  power. 
Every  man  is  daily  made  the  world's  debtor 
by  a  thousand  ministrations  from  his  fellows 
and  from  the  ranks  of  nature  below  him. 
And  if  one  receives,  not  that  he  may  give, 
but  only  that  he  may  enjoy;  if  he  accepts  the 
thousands  of  vegetable  and  animal  lives  sac- 
rificed for  him ;  if  he  benefits  by  the  toil  of 
his  fellow  men,  which  represents  time  and 
strength  and  life  itself;  if  he  appropriates  all 
these,  and,  instead  of  transforming  all  into 
noble  service  and  sacrifice  for  the  common 
good,  consumes  them  all  on  his  mean  little  self, 
he  dies  a  pauper,  in  debt  to  the  universe.  The 
135 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

streams  of  service  and  sacrifice,  which  emptied 
into  his  life,  were  diverted  from  blessing  the 
world,  and  perverted  to  pampering  him;  and, 
like  rivers  lost  in  the  desert,  they  failed  to 
fertilize  his  life. 

Moreover,  by  refusing  to  give,  he  robbed 
himself  as  well  as  the  world,  for,  under  spiritual 
laws,  to  keep  is  to  lose,  and  to  give  is  to 
acquire.  It  was  those  who  had  surrendered 
all  things  to  whom  Paul  said :  "All  things  are 
yours."  There  is  a  divine  and  miraculous 
mathematics  by  which  subtraction  adds  and 
division  multiplies. 

Because  "it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive,"  the  more  precious  the  gift,  the  more 
blessed  the  giving.  And  because  self  is  most 
precious,  the  giving  of  self  is  the  highest 
blessedness  of  which  we  are  capable.  When 
God  demands  surrender  which  is  absolute  and 
entire,  he  is  not  confiscating  a  life,  "as  though 
he  needed  anything."  He  would  be  some- 
thing less  than  benevolent,  if  he  demanded 
136 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

less.  He  requires  us  to  give  that  we  may 
know  the  blessedness  of  coming  into  harmony 
with  himself  and  with  the  laws  of  the  universe ; 
and  he  requires  us  to  give  all  that  we  may 
know  the  highest  possible  blessedness. 

Again,  so  comprehensive  is  this  law  of  sac- 
rifice that  it  includes  not  only  the  entire  man, 
but  the  entire  race.  It  knows  no  exceptions. 
God  makes  no  class  legislation.  "If  any  man 
will  come  after  me";  that  includes  rich  and 
poor  alike;  the  terms  are  all-inclusive.  And 
not  only  must  all  sacrifice,  but  the  measure 
of  sacrifice  is  the  same  for  all.  God  does  not 
ask  of  any  two  the  same  gift,  because  to  no 
two  are  his  gifts  the  same ;  but  he  does  require 
of  every  man  the  same  sacrifice.  To  missionary 
and  to  millionaire,  to  prince  and  to  peasant,  the 
word  is  the  same;  "Whosoever  he  be  of  you 
that  forsaketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple"  (Luke  xiv.  33). 

This  law  of  self-sacrifice,  made  to  embrace 
all  human  beings,  is  the  noblest  tribute  ever 
i37 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

paid  to  human  nature.  It  would  seem  that 
among  all  peoples  and  in  all  ages  there  have 
been  a  few  capable  of  the  noblest  self-sacrifice, 
willing  to  accept  death  for  others;  and  such 
heroes  have  been  honored  as  almost  divine. 
Their  luster  shines  down  from  a  height  deemed 
unattainable  by  ordinary  mortals.  But  Jesus 
believed  that  the  refuse  of  the  race — the  pub- 
licans and  sinners,  the  thieves  and  prostitutes — 
were  capable  of  this  high  heroism,  capable  of 
utter  self-giving  for  his  sake;  and  in  no  gen- 
eration from  that  day  to  this  has  his  sublime 
confidence  been  disappointed. 

Selfish  human  nature  in  its  most  degraded 
representatives  is  surely  capable  of  entering  the 
kingdom  of  unselfishness.  But  how?  Can 
self  overcome  self  or  flee  from  self? 

"All  others  are  outside  myself, 
I  lock  the  door  and  bar  them  out, 
The  turmoil,  tedium,  gad-about. 

"I  lock  my  door  upon  myself, 
And  bar  them  out,  but  who  shall  wall 
Self  from  myself,  most  loathed  of  all? 
138 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

"If  I  could  set  aside  myself, 
And  start  with  lightened  heart  upon 
The  road  by  all  men  overgone! 

"God  harden  me  against  myself, 
This  coward  with  pathetic  voice, 
Who  craves  for  ease,  and  rest,  and  joys. 

"Myself  arch-traitor  to  myself, 
My  hollowest  friend,  my  deadliest  foe, 
My  clog,  whatever  road  I  go."" 

There  is  but  one  antidote  for  selfishness; 
and  this  brings  us  to  the  third  great  social 
law  of  Jesus, 

THE  LAW  OF  LOVE. 

We  have  seen  that  service  and  sacrifice 
which  are  not  unselfish  are  not  Christian.  In 
like  manner  there  may  be  love  which  is  not 
Christian,  because  it  is  not  disinterested. 
There  is  a  natural  love,  the  evolution  of 
which  began  with  the  struggle  for  the  life  of 
others,  and  its  flower,  as  seen  in  family  affec- 
tion and  in  patriotism,  is  the  most  exquisite 
and  noble  product  of  nature,  but  there  is  an 

"  Christina    Rossetti. 
139 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

element  of  selfishness  in  it,  which  is  quite  ob- 
vious. 

Disinterested  love  is  divine;  that  is  the  love 
that  God  is.  When  that  enters  the  heart,  new 
life,  divine  life,  eternal  life  enters  it.  Like  all 
life,  it  is  not  evolved,  but  transmitted ;  and  like 
all  higher  life,  it  comes  from  above.  Dead 
matter  is  no  longer  believed  to  possess  "all 
the  power  and  potency  of  life."  When  in- 
organic matter  becomes  organic,  it  is  because 
vegetable  life  has  come  down  to  it  and  lifted 
it  over  the  chasm  between  life  and  death, 
which,  of  itself,  it  was  powerless  to  cross.  The 
process  is  inscrutable,  but  the  fact  is  indis- 
putable. 

In  like  manner,  the  man  spiritually  dead  be- 
comes spiritually  alive.  The  process  is  equally 
inscrutable,  but  the  fact  is  equally  indisputable. 
Not  only  do  the  phenomena  of  spiritual  life 
appear  where  they  had  been  absent,  but  there 
is  the  additional  evidence  afforded  by  the  testi- 
mony of  consciousness.  The  new  life  has  not 
140 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

been  evolved ;  it  began  with  a  new  birth,  which, 
as  Jesus  said,  must  needs  come  "from  above" 
(Jno.  Hi.  3). 

We  may  trace  matter  from  the  inorganic 
form  up  through  the  vegetable  and  animal  king- 
doms to  man;  and  it  is  to  be  observed  that  in 
each  instance  promotion  is  conditioned  on  a  cer- 
tain preparation,  before  life  can  come  down  to  it 
and  assimilate  it,  thus  lifting  it  up  to  a  higher 
kingdom,  and  making  it  subject  to  higher  laws. 
As  the  grass  must  die  to  itself  before  it  can 
live  in  the  ox,  and  the  ox  must  die  to  himself 
before  he  can  live  in  the  man,  so  man  must  die 
to  himself  before  he  can  enter  into  a  higher 
life,  even  the  life  of  God. 

I  think  it  has  been  made  evident  in  the  pre- 
ceding discussion  that  selfishness  is  the  great 
enemy  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  chief  ob- 
stacle to  the  realization  of  an  ideal  world.  We 
have  seen  that  men  must  come  under  the  laws 
of  disinterested  service  and  of  unselfish  sac- 
rifice, if  they  are  to  enter  into  the  kingdom 
141 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

of  God;  and  to  the  natural  man  this  seems 
impossible,  and  is  impossible  so  long  as  he 
remains  unregenerate.  If  you  ask  inorganic 
matter  to  bud  and  blossom  and  bring  forth 
fruit,  you  ask  an  impossibility,  so  long  as  it 
remains  inorganic.  It  cannot  obey  the  laws  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom  until  it  rises  into  that 
kingdom.  But  after  it  has  begun  to  live,  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  of  life  becomes  as  wholly 
natural  as  it  was  before  wholly  impossible. 

The  selfish  man  cannot  render  disinterested 
service  and  make  unselfish  sacrifice;  and  he 
very  likely  scoffs  at  the  idea  of  any  one's  doing 
so.  He  will  have  to  be  born  from  above  before 
he  can  "see  the  kingdom  of  God"  (Jno.  iii.  3). 
But  after  he  has  died  to  self  and  risen  into  the 
new  life  of  that  kingdom,  what  was  before 
impossible  and  inconceivable  to  him  now  be- 
comes as  natural  and  as  beautiful  as  the 
unfolding  of  a  flower. 

Men  cannot  be  moved  without  motives.  The 
heart  abhors  a  vacuum ;  the  only  way  to  empty 
142 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

it  is  to  fill  it.  If  citizens  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  do  not  serve  and  sacrifice  for  a  selfish 
consideration,  then  they  must  do  it  for  some 
other :  and  this  other  motive  is  furnished  by 
disinterested  love.  That  is  the  new  and  divine 
life,  which  lifts  them  into  the  new  and  divine 
kingdom,  and  makes  them  capable  of  obeying 
its  laws.  Thus,  Christian  love  makes  possible 
Christian  service  and  Christian  sacrifice.  In- 
deed, they  are  only  Christian  love  in  action,  its 
natural  method  of  expression. 

When  a  service  is  rendered  for  love,  with  a 
distinct  consciousness  of  that  motive,  the  more 
difficult  or  disagreeable  or  costly  the  service 
or  sacrifice,  the  fuller  and  more  perfect  is  the 
expression  of  love,  and  the  greater,  therefore, 
is  the  satisfaction.  Love  loves  a  hard  task. 
It  never  chaffers;  it  gives  all  and  longs  for 
more  to  give.  Thus  Nathan  Hale,  when  look- 
ing into  the  face  of  Death,  exclaimed :  "I  regret 
that  I  have  but  one  life  to  give  for  my  country." 
And  I  venture  to  think  that  such  men  as  Paul 
143 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

and  Xavier  and  Judson  and  Livingstone  would 
willingly  have  given  up  immortality  itself,  if 
thereby  they  could  have  saved  those  for  whom 
they  gladly  gave  their  lives.  They  lived  lives 
of  glorious  sacrifice  because  they  lived  lives  of 
glorious  love. 

Here  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  true  glory  of 
God.  We  sometimes  think  of  the  divine  glory 
as  appealing  to  the  senses,  as  if  it  were  an 
effulgence  which  dazzles  the  eye,  or  as  if  it  were 
the  glory  of  knowledge,  and  of  power,  and 
of  immensity,  transcending  comprehension  and 
staggering  imagination.  But  there  is  a  more 
excellent  glory,  of  which  Jesus  is  the  bright- 
ness (Heb.  i.  3).  When  certain  Greeks  de- 
sired to  see  him,  he  said :  "The  hour  is  come, 
that  the  Son  of  man  should  be  glorified."  The 
expectant  disciples  probably  looked  for  some 
stupendous  manifestation  of  power.  Perhaps 
their  Master  would  now  assume  regal  authority 
and  manifest  kingly  glory.  The  hour  for 
which  they  had  so  long  waited  had  at  last  come. 
144 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

And  the  eager  disciples  hear  these  words: 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Except  a  corn 
of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abid- 
eth  alone;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much 
fruit."  He  is  speaking  of  being  glorified  and 
he  is  speaking  of  death.  "He  that  loveth 
his  life,  shall  lose  it;  and  he  that  hateth 
his  life  in  this  world,  shall  keep  it  unto  life 
eternal."  Then  as  he  sees  close  at  hand  the 
great  hour  for  which  he  came  into  the  world — 
the  hour  of  his  agony — his  soul  is  troubled, 
and  he  prays :  "Father,  glorify  thy  name. 
Then  came  there  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying, 
I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it 
again."  And  with  the  assurance  that  the  su- 
preme hour  of  trial  should  glorify  God,  he 
exultantly  exclaims:  "Now  shall  the  prince  of 
this  world  be  cast  out.  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted 
up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me. 
This  he  said,  signifying  what  death  he  should 
die"  (Jno.  xii.  23-33).  Glory,  death!  Glory, 
the  cross! 

145 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

The  disciples'  conception  of  his  glory  was 
very  different.  When  the  ambitious  James 
and  John  desired  to  share  it,  they  asked  that 
they  might  sit  one  on  either  side  of  his  throne 
when  he  should  occupy  it  (Mark  x.  35-38). 
And  Jesus  tells  them  they  do  not  know  that 
when  they  ask  to  share  his  glory  they  are 
asking  to  share  his  cup  of  death  and  to  be 
baptized  with  his  bloody  baptism  of  agony. 

At  the  Last  Supper,  Jesus  said  to  Judas, 
"That  thou  doest,  do  quickly" :  and  he  went 
immediately  out  to  make  the  bargain  of  be- 
trayal. "Therefore,  when  he  was  gone  out, 
Jesus  said,  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glori- 
fied, and  God  is  glorified  in  him"  (Jno.  xiii. 
27-32). 

No  prophet  ever  wrought  such  mighty  works 
as  Jesus,  but  it  is  not  his  miracles  of  power 
which  fix  the  attention  of  a  wondering  world 
to-day.  He  spake  as  never  man  spake,  but  it 
is  not  his  more  than  human  wisdom  which 
attracts  men  to-day.  It  is  the  Christ  "lifted 
146 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

up,"  who  draws  men.  It  is  the  cross  which  is 
the  perpetual  miracle  of  wisdom  and  of  power 
— the  wisdom  of  God  to  pour  light  into  the 
black  pit  of  human  selfishness,  and  the  power 
of  God  to  lift  men  out  of  it. 

The  cross  was  not  simply  the  supreme  inci- 
dent of  Christ's  life.  In  that  wonderful  high- 
priestly  prayer,  only  a  few  hours  before  his 
crucifixion,  he  prayed :  "And  now,  O  Father, 
glorify  thou  me,  .  .  .  with  the  glory  which  I 
had  with  thee  before  the  world  was"  (Jno. 
xvii.  5).  He  was  not  asking  for  the  glory  of 
the  Transfiguration,  when  his  face  shone  as 
the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  the  light 
(Matt.  xvii.  2).  He  was  asking  for  the  eter- 
nal glory  which  he  had  before  the  world  was. 
And  this  prayer  was  granted.  He  was  given 
the  glory  of  the  "Lamb,  slain  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world."  That  was  the  glory  which 
he  had  had  with  the  Father.  That  is  the  essen- 
tial, the  eternal  glory  of  God — the  glory  of 
self-giving;  and  self-giving  is  the  uttermost 
M7 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

glory  of  God,  because  it  is  the  most  perfect 
manifestation  of  himself,  because  it  is  the  utter- 
most expression  of  love. 

During  the  reign  of  the  Commune  in  Paris, 
the  Roman  Catholic  archbishop  was  thrown 
into  prison  and  condemned  to  death.  In  his 
little  cell  there  was  a  narrow  window  in  the 
shape  of  a  cross.  At  the  top  of  it  he  wrote,  in 
pencil,  "Height,"  at  the  bottom,  "Depth,"  at 
the  end  of  one  arm,  "Length,"  at  the  end  of 
the  other,  "Breadth."  It  is  the  cross  which 
measures  the  height  and  depth  and  length  and 
breadth  of  the  love  of  God,  and  that  is  the 
secret  of  its  glory  and  of  its  power. 

"Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself"  was  an  old 
commandment,  as  old  as  Deuteronomy.  Jesus 
said  to  his  disciples :  "A  new  commandment  I 
give  unto  you,  That  ye  love  one  another,  as 
I  have  loved  you"  (Jno.  xiii.  34).  He  loved 
them  enough  to  die  for  them.  The  Golden 
Rule  may  well  be  the  law  of  a  normal  society. 
But  society  to-day  is  abnormal,  it  is  diseased, 
148 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

it  is  sick  with  selfishness ;  and  its  one  sufficient 
remedy  is  a  sacrificial  love. 

Can  men,  common  men,  exercise  such  a  love  ? 
In  his  prayer  Jesus  said :  "And  the  glory  which 
thou  gavest  me  I  have  given  them"  (Jno. 
xvii.  22).  The  glory  of  self-sacrifice,  which 
was  given  to  Christ,  he  gives  to  his  disciples, 
because  he  inspires  them  with  his  love.  So 
that  the  mean,  the  ignorant,  the  bestial  and  be- 
sotted become  capable  of  sacrificial  love,  because 
of  the  identifying  power  of  love  that  makes 
them  one  with  Christ  (Jno.  xvii.  22,  23). 

Loving  is  self-giving;  love  gives  itself  to 
its  object ;  hence  mutual  love  is,  as  it  were,  the 
exchange  of  two  selves,  the  identification  of 
two  lives.  In  former  times,  when  friendship 
was  narrower  and  more  intense  than  it  is  now, 
men  sometimes  exchanged  names,  and  ever 
after  each  was  known  by  the  name  of  the  other, 
as  if  their  very  selves  had  been  exchanged. 

There  is  something  like  this  between  Christ 
and  us.  He  called  himself  the  "Son  of  man" 
149 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

that  we  might  call  ourselves  "sons  of  God." 
He  became  human  that  we  might  become 
divine.  And  when  this  exchange  is  perfected, 
it  is  the  perfection  of  joy  and  blessedness,  be- 
cause it  is  the  perfection  of  love.1* 

In  marriage,  the  wife  takes  the  husband's 
name,  not  for  convenient  identification,  but 
rather  to  express  identity.  Their  interests 
have  now  become  the  same,  and  more  or  less 
completely  she  lives  his  life.  In  like  manner, 
unless  we  bear  the  name  of  Christ  unworthily, 
we  are  called  "Christians,"  because  (more  or 
less  imperfectly,  yet  in  some  real  sense)  we  arc 
living  his  life,  have  the  same  supreme  purpose, 
and  gladly  serve  and  sacrifice  to  hasten  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom. 

When  a. man  gives  himself  to  God  and  lets 
God  give  himself  to  him,  God's  life  enters  into 
him,  and  he  begins  to  enter  into  God's  life, 

:*  Bushnell  points  out  the  fact  that  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment the  word  which  signifies  love  is  radically  one  with 
the  word  which  signifies  joy. 
ic.o 


THE  SOCIAL  LAWS  OF  JESUS 

which  is  a  life  of  service  and  of  sacrificial  love ; 
and  so  far  as  men  become  one  with  God,  they 
become  one  with  each  other.  Thus  love  is 
seen  to  be  the  supreme  social  law,  the  great 
organizing,  integrating  power,  precisely  as  its 
opposite,  selfishness,  is  the  great  disorganizing, 
disintegrating,  anti-social  power. 

And  it  is  as  certain  that  moral  order  will 
ultimately  triumph  over  moral  chaos  in  the 
world  as  it  is  certain  that  divine  love  is  mightier 
than  human  selfishness. 


151 


VII 

THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS 
NOT   ACCEPTED 

Archbishop  Magee,  of  the  Established 
Church  of  England,  was  reported,  a  few  years 
since,  to  have  said  that  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  was  ideal,  but  altogether  impracticable, 
and  that  if  an  effort  were  made  to  apply  its 
teachings  literally,  "society  would  tumble  to 
pieces." 

The  teachings  of  Jesus  deal  with  man  in  his 
relations  to  God  and  in  his  relations  to  his 
fellow  men.  The  first  class  are  doubtless  ac- 
cepted by  all  Christians  as  binding.  The 
second  are  some  of  them  accepted  and  some 
152 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

of  them  rejected  or  ignored.  No  one  can  com- 
pare these  latter  requirements  with  existing 
customs  without  seeing  that  in  many  instances 
there  is  no  pretense  of  obedience  even  on  the 
part  of  professed  Christians;  and  it  would 
puzzle  most  people  to  give  any  better  reason 
for  their  neglect  than  established  custom. 
Many  have  never  thought  of  it ;  and  accept  the 
common  interpretation  of  Christian  duty  as  a 
matter  of  course.  If  a  religious  teacher  at- 
tempts an  explanation  of  the  discrepancy  be- 
tween Christ's  requirements  and  the  accepted 
standards  of  Christian  obligation,  he  tells  us, 
like  Archbishop  Magee,  that  these  neglected 
teachings  of  Jesus  are  "impracticable,"  or  that 
they  are  "not  applicable  and,  therefore,  not 
binding."  I  understand  a  considerable  school 
of  earnest  people  to  hold  that  the  laws  of  the 
kingdom  are  not  binding  in  this  dispensation 
and  will  not  be  until  the  millennium. 

No  doubt  the  social  teachings  of  Jesus  will 
be  obeyed  when  the  millennium  comes,  that  is, 
i53 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

when  society  is  perfected  and  man's  relations 
to  his  fellows  are  all  that  they  should  be.  But 
by  whose  authority  is  the  social  legislation  of 
Christ  suspended  for  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  years  ?  Surely  not  by  that  of  the  legislator ; 
and  I  know  of  no  higher  authority.  That 
would  be  unique  legislation  which  provided  that 
its  laws  should  become  binding  only  after  they 
were  universally  obeyed.  Jesus  nowhere  hints 
that  his  legislation  is  to  become  operative  only 
after  it  is  no  longer  needed.  The  laws  of  the 
kingdom  were  promulgated  when  the  kingdom 
was  inaugurated;  and  these  are  the  laws  by 
which  that  kingdom  is  to  be  realized.  It  can 
come  only  so  fast  as  they  are  accepted  and 
obeyed.  To  say  that  the  social  laws  of  Jesus 
are  not  applicable  in  a  selfish  society,  and  will 
not  become  binding  until  society  becomes  un- 
selfish, is  like  saying  that  the  laws  of  health 
are  not  binding  on  a  sick  man,  and  will  not 
be  until  he  becomes  well.  The  laws  of  health 
are  remedial,  and  the  sick  man  can  recover 
154 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

only  by  obeying  them.  Selfishness  is  the  great 
social  disease,  and  the  social  laws  of  Jesus 
were  aimed  at  its  eradication. 

It  is  obviously  true  that  the  Christian  life 
cannot  be  perfected  without  the  acceptance  of 
those  laws,  but  Jesus  insisted  that  without  their 
acceptance  it  could  not  be  begun.  He  himself 
perfectly  obeyed  the  laws  of  service,  sacrifice 
and  love,  and  called  for  followers;  making  it 
perfectly  clear,  at  the  same  time,  that  no  one 
could  become  his  disciple  without  accepting 
crucifixion,  that  as  he  came  to  serve,  so  his 
followers  must  serve,  and  that  as  he  loved 
them,  so  they  must  love  one  another.  These 
laws  relate  not  simply  to  the*  consummation 
of  the  kingdom,  they  are  placed  over  the  gate 
of  entrance. 

What  makes  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
"impracticable"  at  the  present  time,  or  "inap- 
plicable" to  modern  society  ?  Is  it  the  fact  that 
obedience  to  its  teachings  would  cost  sacrifice  ? 
If  so,  were  those  teachings  any  more  "prac- 
i55 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

ticable"  when  they  were  uttered?  Did  obe- 
dience cost  any  less  when  the  penalty  of  dis- 
cipleship  was  excommunication  from  the  syna- 
gogue? Being  "cut  off  from  the  congregation" 
then  meant  what  extreme  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline does  not  mean  now.  It  had  not  only 
religious,  but  also  political,  social  and  com- 
mercial consequences.  Its  victim  could  neither 
teach  nor  be  taught,  could  neither  hire  nor  be 
hired,  nor  could  he  perform  any  commercial 
transaction  beyond  purchasing  the  necessaries 
of  life.  Discipleship  must  have  been  extremely 
inconvenient  in  such  a  society.  Doubtless 
those  who  think  it  would  overturn  society  to 
follow  Christ  now  would  have  been  of  the  same 
mind  then,  if  they  had  been  contemporaries  of 
Jesus.  In  fact,  I  can  think  of  no  organization 
of  society  which  would  make  it  really  con- 
venient and  agreeable  to  be  crucified. 

Supposing  it  to  be  true  that  the  social  laws 
of  Jesus  and  our  social  system  are  a  misfit,  the 
question  arises,  are  those  laws  to  be  changed 
156 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

to  fit  society,  or  is  society  to  be  changed  to  fit 
the  laws?  If  it  be  true  that  an  actual  appli- 
cation of  those  laws  would  cause  "society  to 
tumble  to  pieces,"  it  is  because  society  has  been 
built  on  the  shifting  sands  of  human  custom 
and  not  on  the  eternal  rock  of  divine  principle. 
The  permanence  of  such  a  society  is  not  proble- 
matical. But  the  Archbishop  supposed  a  literal 
application  of  Christ's  teachings.  Blackstone 
says  that  the  literalist  "sticks  in  the  bark" ;  and 
surely  literalism  is  nowhere  more  superficial 
than  in  the  interpretation  of  Jesus.  On  occa- 
sion he  reproved  his  disciples  for  understanding 
him  literally.  As  an  Oriental  speaking  to 
Orientals,  he  freely  used  metaphor  and  hyper- 
bole, which  should  not  be  forgotten  in  asking 
what  he  taught.  The  Oriental  mind  is  imagi- 
native, the  Occidental  is  practical.  An  expres- 
sion of  the  imagination,  which  would  not  be 
misunderstood  by  an  Oriental,  if  interpreted 
literally  in  the  western  world,  would  be  very 
liable  to  lead  to  extremes.  In  seeking  to  deter- 
i57 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

mine  the  binding  force  of  Christ's  example  and 
requirements,  it  should  be  remembered  that  he 
lived  in  the  midst  of  different  social  institutions 
and  conditions ;  and  we  should  inquire  to  what 
extent,  if  any,  these  differences  rendered  his 
requirements  local  and  temporary.  For  in- 
stance, Christ  girded  himself  with  a  towel  and 
washed  the  feet  of  his  disciples,  and  said  they 
ought  to  wash  one  another's  feet.  But  we  do 
not  consider  that  command  binding  on  us.  In 
the  warm  climate  of  Palestine  men  wore  san- 
dals. The  wayfarer's  feet,  therefore,  were 
travel-stained  and  were  commonly  cleansed 
before  entering  a  house.  To  perform  this  act 
for  another  was  regarded  as  menial  in  the  ex- 
treme. When,  therefore,  Jesus  washed  his 
disciples'  feet  and  bade  them  follow  his  ex- 
ample, the  essential  thing  which  he  manifested 
and  inculcated  was  the  spirit  of  humility  and 
of  service. 

This  spirit  is  obligatory  always  and  every- 
where;  its   particular   form  of  manifestation 
158 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

will  vary  with  circumstances.  It  is  easy  to 
insist  on  the  unessential  form  and  to  let  go  the 
essential  spirit;  and  this  is  the  very  worst  and 
most  offensive  form  of  disobedience.  Christ 
inculcates  principles,  and  we  do  not  grasp  his 
teachings  until  we  lay  hold  of  the  principles 
which  underlie  them.  The  particular  applica- 
tion which  he  made  of  them  to  the  men  of  his 
generation  may  have  been  local  and  temporary, 
but  the  principles  themselves  are  universal  in 
their  application  and  eternal  in  their  obligation. 
When,  therefore,  we  have  grasped  his  prin- 
ciples, that  is,  when  we  understand  what  he 
really  taught,  nothing  remains  for  the  true 
disciple  save  implicit  acceptance  and  unques- 
tioning obedience.  We  are  not  at  liberty  to 
accept  one  and  to  reject  another  according  to 
our  humor.  We  dare  not  explain  away  or  tone 
down.  We  may  not  consult  custom  nor  con- 
venience nor  consequence.  Results  are  none  of 
our  business.  Like  soldiers,  we  are  to  obey 
instantly,  counting  no  costs. 
i59 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

To  accept  a  part  of  Christ's  teachings  as 
authoritative  and  reject  another  part  as  "im- 
practicable" is  not  only  disloyal  but  absurd. 
We  must  either  accept  him  altogether  or  reject 
him  altogether,  as  an  authoritative  teacher. 
To  do  otherwise  is  to  drag  him  down  from  his 
position  as  Lord  and  Master  to  a  place  beside 
Plato.  If  he  was  not  authoritative,  he  was 
not  divine,  and  none  of  his  commands  is  bind- 
ing. If  he  was  divine,  he  was  authoritative> 
and  all  of  his  commands  are  binding. 

The  three  fundamental  laws  of  the  kingdom 
are  not  rules,  which  change  with  changing 
circumstances,  but  social  principles,  universally 
applicable  and  perpetually  binding;  and  we 
have  seen  that  the  essential  thing  is  not  the 
act  itself  but  the  spirit  and  motive  of  the  act. 
Whether,  therefore,  our  modern,  industrial  civ- 
ilization is  Christian  or  not  depends  on  its 
inspiring  spirit  and  motive. 

Is  our  industrial  system  informed  by  the 
spirit  of  Christian  service  ?  Professor  Peabody 
160 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

in  his  most  valuable  book,  "Jesus  Christ  and 
the  Social  Question,"  says  that  business,  as  a 
whole,  is  a  vast  and  complex  movement  of 
social  service.  He  continues :  "The  creation 
of  new  forms  of  business  proceeds,  as  a  rule, 
not  from  the  desire  to  rob  the  community,  but 
from  the  desire  to  serve  it;  and  in  the  main, 
the  most  rewarding  forms  of  business  are  those 
which  are  based  on  the  discernment  of  real 
needs  and  the  supplying  of  real  benefits."15 
This  is  undoubtedly  true ;  but  the  crucial  ques- 
tion is,  What  are  the  spirit  and  motive  of  the 
service  which  men  desire  to  render?  For  we 
have  seen  that  there  is  a  radical  difference  be- 
tween the  commercial  spirit  and  the  Christian 
spirit.  Commercialism  renders  service,  it  is 
true,  but  in  order  to  receive  service;  and  love 
accepts  of  service,  but  in  order  to  give  service. 
During  recent  years,  there  have  been  in  the 
industrial  world  many  new  and  vast  combina- 
tions.    What  has  been  the  motive  in  forming 

"Page  318. 

161 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

the  trust?  In  how  many  instances  may  we 
suppose  it  was  urged  that  such  a  combination 
would  make  it  possible  to  render  to  society  a 
better  service  at  a  lower  cost?  A  man  who 
urged  such  a  reason  would  probably  be  looked 
on  by  his  associates  as  a  hypocrite.  It  is  quite 
safe  to  assume  that  the  reason  frankly  urged 
was  that  there  was  "money  in  it." 

Why  are  yellow  journals  filled  with  scan- 
dals, crimes,  exaggerations  and  lies?  Is  it 
because  the  public  needs  sensation,  or  because 
a  depraved  appetite  demands  it,  and  money 
can,  therefore,  be  made  by  supplying  it  ?  Why 
are  millions  of  bushels  of  food  transformed 
into  noxious  drink?  Is  it  because  men  need 
rum,  and  to  make  it  is  to  serve  society,  or 
because  there  is  a  demand  for  it  which  affords 
an  opportunity  for  unscrupulous  money-get- 
ting? Is  anybody  cultivating  or  manufactur- 
ing tobacco  because  he  really  believes  he  is 
thereby  rendering  a  service  to  society?  How 
about  the  billions  of  cigarettes  made  every 
162 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

year?  How  about  the  rum  traffic  with  Africa 
and  the  islands  of  the  sea  ?  Was  opium  forced 
on  China  because  it  was  supposed  she  needed 
it?  Why  is  real  estate  or  any  other  form  of 
property  bought  and  held  for  a  rise?  Is  it 
because  any  one  supposes  that  the  public  needs 
to  pay  more  for  it?  Why  are  there  attempts 
to  corner  wheat  and  pork  and  cotton?  Is  the 
object  to  render  service  or  to  make  money? 

But  let  us  turn  to  entirely  legitimate  indus- 
tries. What  is  the  question  oftenest  asked  by 
the  manufacturer  and  merchant?  Will  it 
serve?  or  Will  it  sell?  What  is  the  question 
uppermost  in  the  mind  of  the  average  investor  ? 
Is  it  serviceable?  or  Is  it  safe?  Will  it  pro- 
mote the  general  good?  or  Will  it  pay  good 
dividends  ? 

Obviously  the  business  world  is  organized 
on  the  competitive  principle.  Does  any  one 
imagine  that  the  common  object  of  this  struggle 
is  the  greatest  usefulness  ?  If  it  is  inspired  by 
the  desire  to  render  unselfish  service,  why  do 
163 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

we  hear  so  much  of  "cut-throat"  competition? 
Does  the  persistent  endeavor  to  undersell  one's 
competitors  spring  from  a  burning  desire  to 
give  the  public  the  benefit  of  lower  prices,  or 
to  get  the  benefit  of  increased  business? 

"All  that  the  traffic  will  stand"  is  a  common 
expression  among  business  men.  Does  it  mean 
the  lowest  possible  charge  compatible  with  good 
service,  or  does  it  mean  the  highest  charge 
practicable  without  reducing  patronage  so  as 
to  impair  profits?  What  gives  the  average 
business  man  pause  when  he  is  considering  an 
advance  in  prices?  Is  it  the  fear  that  the 
higher  figure  will  prove  a  hardship  to  the  con- 
sumer, or  is  it  rather  that  it  will  enable  some 
competitor  to  undersell  him  and  so  take  away 
his  business,  or  that  the  higher  price  will  so 
reduce  demand  as  to  curtail  profits? 

The  great  words  of  the  old  political  economy 

and  of  the  present-day  business  world  are  not 

need  and  service,  but  demand  and  supply,  and 

the  common  use  of  these  words  indicates  the 

164 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

common  purpose  and  motive  of  business. 
There  are  men  in  business  who  are  inspired  by 
the  spirit  of  Christian  service;  men  who  are 
more  anxious  to  provide  work  for  their  opera- 
tives than  they  are  to  make  money;  men  who 
in  times  of  industrial  depression  continue  work 
at  an  actual  loss  rather  than  throw  their  em- 
ployees out  of  employment.  But  it  is  undoubt- 
edly true  that  there  are  comparatively  few 
business  men  to  whom  the  question  of  service 
is  supreme,  and  the  question  of  profits,  how- 
ever necessary,  is  secondary. 

That  our  competitive  industrial  and  com- 
mercial system  is  selfish  and,  therefore,  unchris- 
tian is  so  palpably  and  grossly  obvious  that  I 
hesitate  to  amplify  the  argument  lest  I  seem  to 
insult  the  intelligence  of  the  reader;  but  the 
fact  that  the  daily  press  and  that  intelligent 
and  even  Christian  business  men  have  contro- 
verted the  above  proposition  leads  me  to  con- 
tinue. 

In  apprehension   of   the   Christian   law   of 
165 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

service,  the  business  world  is  far  behind  the 
professional  world.  How  much  did  we  honor 
the  soldier  in  the  Civil  War  whose  patriotism 
was  kindled  only  by  a  generous  bounty  ?  What 
do  we  think  of  the  teacher  whose  highest  mo- 
tive is  furnished  by  his  salary?  What  of  the 
physician  who  disregards  the  cry  of  distress 
from  the  hovel,  because  he  knows  that  the 
service  would  go  unpaid?  What  of  the  artist 
who  lowers  his  art  that  he  may  raise  his  in- 
come? What  of  the  minister  who  is  known 
to  be  mercenary  ?  All  of  these  professions  are 
recognized  as  coming,  at  least  in  some  measure, 
under  the  law  of  service ;  but  by  common  con- 
sent the  world  of  industry  absolves  itself  from 
this  law.  The  soldier,  the  teacher,  the  phys- 
ician, the  artist,  the  minister,  whose  supreme 
motive  is  pecuniary  gain,  is  deemed  unworthy 
of  his  profession;  but  we  take  it  for  granted 
that  the  object  of  a  man  in  going  into  business 
is  to  make  money.  Most  business  men  would 
be  much  amused  at  the  idea  of  going  into  busi- 
166 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

ness  with  any  other  motive.  We  often  hear 
men  say  they  are  "not  in  business  for  their 
health,"  or  "for  fun,"  or  "for  philanthropy." 
The  familiar  dictum,  "Business  is  business," 
waives  all  sentiment  aside,  and  reduces  every 
question  to  one  of  profit  and  loss. 

There  are  many  generous,  many  Christian 
men  in  business,  who  sincerely  desire  the  wel- 
fare of  their  employees,  and  who  use  their 
profits  for  the  noblest  ends;  but  it  has  dawned 
on  few  that  production  and  distribution  are 
necessary  functions  in  the  great  social  organ- 
ization to  which  they  owe  the  service  of  their 
lives,  and  that  it  is  their  special  mission  by  the 
best  possible  performance  of  these  functions  to 
extend  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  earth.  But 
few  have  perceived  that  the  proper  object,  the 
supreme  object,  of  every  legitimate  business 
is  not  gain  but  service.  There  ought  to  be 
gain,  of  course,  that  the  business  man  may  live 
by  his  business,  precisely  as  the  man  who 
preaches  the  Gospel  should  live  by  the  Gospel ; 
167 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

but  the  merchant  or  manufacturer* or  mechanic 
whose  object  is  gain  rather  than  service  is  as 
unworth)'-  of  his  calling  as  is  the  minister  whose 
object  is  gain  rather  than  service. 

If  the  business  man  thinks  I  have  misrepre- 
sented him,  let  us  make  a  concrete  application 
of  Christian  laws  to  his  methods  and  motives. 
We  will  suppose  that  Jesus  Christ  returns  in 
the  flesh,  and  that  he  is  given  entire  control  of 
some  great  railway,  the  New  York  Central  or 
the  Pennsylvania  system,  or  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company,  or  of  the  American  Steel  Cor- 
poration, or  of  the  business  of  the  average 
employer  of  labor.  He  is  "the  same,  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  forever,"  the  same  who  laid 
down  the  fundamental  Christian  laws  of  ser- 
vice, sacrifice  and  love,  and  would  certainly 
administer  the  business  in  accordance  with 
those  laws.  Would  there  be  any  change  in 
the  service  of  the  public,  any  fall  of  prices, 
any  rise  of  wages,  any  shortening  of  hours, 
any  improvement  in  the  conditions  of  labor? 
168 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

Does  any  one  suppose  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  placard  the  fact  in  order  to  have  it 
known  to  the  employees  and  to  the  public  that 
there  had  been  a  change  in  the  management? 
Whatever  change  of  policy  there  might  be 
would  precisely  measure  the  present  divergence 
from  the  Christian  law. 

If  the  average  business  man  should  hand  his 
affairs  over  to  the  management  of  Jesus  Christ 
for  thirty  days,  what  might  he  reasonably 
expect  to  find  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  ? 
His  regular  methods  more  vigorously  applied, 
his  lines  extended,  his  business  enlarged,  his 
wealth  increased,  or  would  he  be  more  likely 
to  find  himself  bankrupt?  If  the  latter  alter- 
native should  prove  to  be  the  correct  one,  it 
would  be  because  the  existing  system  is  out 
of  joint  with  Christian  methods  and  the  Chris- 
tian spirit. 

I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  employers,  as  a 
class,  are  more  selfish  than  their  employees,  or 
than  professional  men,  or  the  general  public. 
169 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

There  are  selfish  and  unselfish  men  in  all  classes. 
I  contend  that  our  competitive  industrial  sys- 
tem is  animated  by  a  selfish  spirit,  and,  there- 
fore, by  an  unchristian  spirit;  and  there  are 
unselfish  employers  who  find  themselves  victims 
of  that  system.  The  responsibility  for  it  rests 
not  with  any  one  class,  but  with  the  general 
public,  who  insist  on  low  prices  without  much 
regard  to  the  methods  by  which  they  are  made 
possible.  From  production  to  consumption, 
commerce  is  of  course  a  series  of  buyings  and 
sellings ;  and  the  spirit  of  selfishness  in  the  con- 
sumer, who  is  the  last  buyer,  insures  the  spirit 
of  competition  throughout  the  series ;  and  it  is 
the  wage-earners,  at  the  other  end  of  the  series, 
who  feel  most  keenly  the  effects  of  this  com- 
petition. When  we  place  several  marbles  in  a 
straight  line  and  in  contact  with  each  other, 
if  we  hit  the  one  at  the  end  of  the  row,  they 
all  remain  nearly  stationary  except  the  last, 
which  rolls  away.  In  like  manner,  the  selfish- 
ness of  the  consumer  at  one  end  of  the  series 
170 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

deals  a  blow  which  is  conducted  through  all 
the  series  with  comparatively  little  effect 
upon  the  intermediaries  to  spend  its  full 
force  on  the  wage-earning  producer  at  the 
other  end. 

I  have  sometimes  been  inclined  to  think  we 
need  one  more  society — an  Anti-Bargain 
Brotherhood.  Or  perhaps  it  ought  to  be  a 
sisterhood — at  any  rate  I  would  not  blackball 
the  sisters,  if  they  applied  for  membership — a 
society  whose  members  would  refuse  to  buy 
certain  articles  or  to  trade  with  certain  men, 
because  their  prices  are  too  low. 

Human  nature  is  very  much  the  same  in 
workingmen  that  it  is  in  their  employers. 
There  is  reason  to  fear  that  comparatively  few 
are  more  interested  in  the  kind  and  amount 
of  service  they  render  than  in  their  wages. 
Masters  and  men  alike  need  to  be  converted  to 
the  law  of  Christian  service. 

Industry  is  still  in  what  Emerson  called  the 
"quadruped  state."  Business  is  still  a  struggle 
171 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

for  life,  in  which  the  weaker  is  made  a  victim. 
The  time  will  come  when  will  be  recognized 
that  other  and  co-ordinate  principle,  which 
Professor  Drummond  so  happily  emphasized, 
viz. :  the  struggle  for  the  life  of  others.  The 
old  industrial  doctrine  that  with  certain  legal 
restrictions  the  self-interest  of  each  is  a  suffi- 
cient guide  to  the  welfare  of  all  is  unchristian 
and,  therefore,  not  permanent.  When  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  fully  come  in  the  world,  I 
imagine  that  the  Manchester  school  of  political 
economy  will  have  just  about  as  much  influence 
on  earth  as  it  now  has  in  heaven. 

It  would  seem  to  be  sufficiently  clear  that 
our  industrial  system,  although  based  on  the 
exchange  of  services,  is  not  inspired  by  the 
spirit  of  service,  and,  therefore,  does  not  con- 
form to  the  social  law  of  service  laid  down 
by  Christ. 

But  the  question  may  arise  whether  pro- 
fessed followers  of  Christ  generally  obey  that 
law.  Whatever  might  be  claimed  by  Chris- 
172 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

tian  men  concerning  their  motives,  it  is  quite 
certain  the  impression  generally  prevails  that 
church-members  and  non-church-members  are 
actuated  by  the  same  motives  in  business.  If 
the  real  object  of  the  former  is  to  serve  others, 
the  secret  is  well  kept ;  the  world  does  not  even 
suspect  it.  Indeed,  there  are  men  all  around 
us  who  do  not  believe  that  such  a  thing  as 
disinterestedness  exists. 

If  in  the  business  world,  the  professed  dis- 
ciples of  Christ  do  not  generally  observe  the 
Christian  law  of  service,  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  inquire  whether  they  obey  the  other  Chris- 
tian laws  of  sacrifice  and  love,  which,  if  pos- 
sible, make  even  higher  requirements.  Proba- 
bly few  men  would  profess  to  carry  these 
motives  into  their  endeavors  to  acquire  prop- 
erty. To  what  extent,  then,  do  self-sacrifice 
and  love  control  its  administration?  Do  pro- 
fessing Christians  generally  accept  the  claims 
of  Christian  stewardship,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  are  made  binding  by  the  social  laws  of 
173 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

Jesus?16  Church-members  talk  of  their  "prop- 
erty" and  of  their  "gifts."  This  is  not  the 
language  of  stewardship  which  simply  admin- 
isters a  trust.  It  indicates  a  sense  of  owner- 
ship. Some  (and  they  are  among  the  most 
open-handed)  speak  of  "the  Lord's  tenth," 
which  means  that  they  think  of  "their  own" 
nine-tenths.  How  many  have  actually  and 
consciously  surrendered  all  their  substance  to 
God  for  the  service  of  man,  and  are  adminis- 
tering every  dollar  and  every  cent  as  they 
believe  will  best  serve  humanity  and  hasten 
the  coming  of  the  kingdom?  There  are  such 
people,  but  it  goes  without  saying  that  they 
are  rare.  Such  consecration  would  be  the  rule 
instead  of  the  exception,  if  the  social  laws  of 
Jesus  were  commonly  accepted.  It  is  no  more 
than  he  requires  of  every  follower.  "Whoso- 
ever he  be  of  you  that  forsaketh  not  all  thai 

18  For  an  extended  discussion  of  stewardship  and  of 
the  relations  of  money  to  the  kingdom  of  God  see  the 
author's  "Our  Country,"  chap.  xv. 
174 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

he  hath,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple"  (Luke 
xiv.  33). 

Large  sums,  in  the  aggregate,  are  devoted 
to  beneficence  every  year,  but  compared  with 
the  sore  needs  of  the  world  and  with  the  sums 
spent  in  self-indulgence,  they  are  beggarly 
small.  President  Mark  Hopkins  said  that  self- 
denial  was  a  doctrine  that  had  faded  from  the 
consciousness  of  the  church.17  Not  a  few  give 
like  princes  who  also  live  like  princes,  indicat- 
ing that  they  have  failed  to  grasp  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  Christian  stewardship.  Many  good 
and  intelligent  men  justify  their  living  in  lux- 
ury by  saying  that  it  gives  employment  to  many 
who  would  otherwise  be  thrown  out  of  work, 
showing  that  they  have  failed  to  grasp  eco- 
nomic principles  as  completely  as  they  have 
failed  to  accept  Christian  principles. 

Whenever  we  make  a  purchase  we  are  direct- 
ing the  labor  of  one  or  more  persons  for  a  cer- 
tain length  of  time.     Does  it  make  no  differ- 

"  "Strength  and   Beauty,"  p.  301. 
175 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

ence  whether  we  direct  that  labor  to  the  service 
of  others  or  consume  it  on  ourselves;  whether 
it  is  employed  on  luxuries  which  minister  to 
pride  and  effeminacy  or  on  articles  of  real  ser- 
vice to  the  world? 

In  earlier  centuries  it  was  believed,  and  with 
some  show  of  reason,  that  the  rich  conferred  a 
benefit  on  society  by  luxurious  living,  because 
it  put  money  in  circulation;  and  this  notion 
survives  long  after  the  only  ground  which  in 
any  measure  justified  it  has  passed  away. 
Formerly  the  rich,  having  no  such  opportuni- 
ties to  make  investments  as  are  now  common, 
kept  their  treasure  in  a  strong  box,  or  perhaps 
buried  it  in  the  earth.  As  long  as  it  was  locked 
up  it  was  of  course  unproductive,  and  practi- 
cally did  not  exist.  Doubtless  it  was  better  fcr 
society  to  spend  it  in  luxury,  thus  by  its  circu- 
lation stimulating  industry,  than  to  let  it  lie 
idle.  But  if  that  was  ever  a  necessary  alter- 
native, it  certainly  is  not  now.  Even  the  typi- 
cal miser  of  to-day  does  not  hide  away  his  gold, 
176 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

he  invests  it ;  and  his  income  from  it  is  at  once 
reinvested.  An  investment  earns  because  it 
serves ;  and  every  wisely  invested  dollar  serves 
the  general  public  much  more  than  it  serves 
its  owner.  It  is  no  longer  necessary  to  spend 
in  order  to  put  money  in  circulation.  When 
the  rich  man  now  spends  money  he  withdraws 
it  from  circulation  before  he  spends  it. 

No  matter  how  great  wealth  may  be,  luxury 
can  find  no  excuse,  either  economic  or  Scrip- 
tural, so  long  as  the  world  is  in  want.  Ever)' 
expenditure  upon  self,  large  or  small,  should 
be  made  with  a  view  to  the  greatest  possible 
service  to  society,  and  in  the  spirit  of  self- 
denial. 

Stewardship,  of  course,  recognizes  the  divine 
ownership  not  only  in  our  substance  but  in 
ourselves,  and  hence  means  the  use  of  time  and 
powers  as  well  as  possessions  for  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  service  of  man*.  Doubtless  most 
professing  Christians  would  say  that  they  had 
not  thus  consecrated  themselves  to  help  make 
177 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

the  world  ideal ;  and  not  only  so,  but  they  would 
say  they  had  never  been  taught  that  it  was  their 
duty  so  to  do. 

A  Mormon  elder  once  told  me  he  thought 
I  would  be  saved  by  my  ignorance.  If  ignor- 
ance is  a  saving  grace,  then  there  is  much  hope 
for  many  of  us,  surely.  We  must  make  allow- 
ances for  the  fact  that  Christian  men.  and 
women  generally  have  not  been  instructed  in 
the  social  teachings  of  Jesus.  But  ignorance 
of  fundamental  Christian  truths,  while  it  may 
in  some  measure  exculpate  them,  certainly  in- 
culpates the  pulpit.  Is  it  not  true  that  under 
the  teaching  of  many  pulpits  to-day,  commer- 
cialism and  coveteousness  exist  in  the  church, 
self-satisfied  and  undisturbed?  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  preaching  which  does  not  trouble 
the  conscience  of  men  who  instead  of  living  to 
serve  society  are  living  to  make  society  serve 
them,  men  who  instead  of  living  to  give  are 
living  to  get.  Are  not  the  preachers  few  who, 
like  their  Master,  make  the  kingdom  of  God 
178 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

the  great  burden  of  their  teaching?  Are  not 
the  preachers  few  who  faithfully  inculcate  their 
Master's  teaching  concerning  riches,  notwith- 
standing those  teachings  are  more  needed 
to-day  than  ever  before  ?  Jesus  said :  "How 
hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God"  (Mark  x.  23).  That 
is,  how  difficult  it  is  for  the  rich  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  service,  of  sacrifice  and  of  love, 
which  is  the  kingdom  of  God.  Jesus  taught 
that  it  is  only  by  a  great  miracle  that  a  rich 
man  enters  into  that  kingdom  (Matt.  xix.  24). 
That  is,  it  is  a  moral  miracle  when  a  man 
accustomed  daily  to  have  his  own  way  does  not 
grow  willful  and  domineering,  and  when  one, 
who  has  the  means  of  gratifying  his  every 
whim,  leads  a  life  of  daily  self-denial. 

As  a  result  of  the  teaching  or  lack  of  teach- 
ing on  this  subject,  church-members  generally 
do  not  believe  that  the  rich  are  in  peculiar 
danger  of  being  excluded  from  the  kingdom; 
or,  if  they  do,  they  are  eager  to  take  the  risk. 
179 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

They  do  not  generally  take  Jesus  seriously, 
when  he  said :  "Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treas- 
ures upon  earth"  (Matt.  vi.  19),  for  that  is 
precisely  what  most  of  them  are  doing,  or 
trying  to  do.  They  do  not  generally  believe 
that  "it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,'-' 
or  if  they  do,  they  very  resolutely  deny  them- 
selves this  greater  blessedness. 

If  I  mistake  not,  there  is  in  the  church  to-day 
a  great  deal  of  ignorance,  of  superficial  religion, 
of  self-deception  and  of  worldliness,  for  which 
the  pulpit  is  largely  responsible;  and  the  diffi- 
culty lies  chiefly  in  the  failure  of  the  ministry 
to  apprehend,  or  to  accept,  or,  at  least,  to 
inculcate,  the  social  teachings  of  Jesus.  The 
laws  of  service,  sacrifice  and  love  have  been 
preached,  but  they  have  been  applied  to  men  in 
their  Godward,  rather  than  in  their  manward, 
relations.  True  religion  has  been  believed  to 
consist  in  right  personal  relations  with  God; 
hence  the  duty  of  serving  him,  of  sacrificing 
for  him,  and  of  loving  him.  This  is  true  of 
180 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

course,  but  it  is  only  a  part  of  the  truth.  It 
has  not  been  generally  taught  that  the  only 
way  to  serve  God  is  to  serve  men,  that  the 
only  way  to  sacrifice  for  God  is  to  sacrifice  for 
men,  and  that  the  only  genuine  love  to  God 
is  that  which  inspires  loving  service  and  sac- 
rifice in  behalf  of  men. 

If  the  only  existences  in  the  universe  were 
God  and  a  single  soul,  I  know  of  no  way  in 
which  that  soul  could  offer  service  or  sacrifice 
to  God,  "as  though  he  needed  anything."  If 
God  were  something  less  than  infinite,  we 
might  increase  his  well-being  by  service  and 
sacrifice,  but  as  he  is  self-sufficient,  the  only 
way  we  can  serve  him  is  by  serving  his  chil- 
dren, and  the  only  way  we  can  sacrifice  for 
him  is  by  sacrificing  for  them. 

When  men  forget  the  social  character  of 
these  three  fundamental  laws  of  Jesus,  there 
results  a  perversion  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  attempt  to  serve  God  without  serving  man 
produces  ritualism;  the  attempt  to  sacrifice  for 
181 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

God  without  reference  to  man  leads  to  ascet- 
icism and  self-torture;  the  attempt  to  love  God 
without  loving  man  results  in  mysticism,  each 
of  which  is  a  caricature  of  Christianity.18  God 
in  Christ  identifies  himself  with  man,  and 
refuses  to  be  separated  from  him.  "Inasmuch 
as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these 
my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me,"  and 
"Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least 
of  these,  ye  did  it  not  to  me"  (Matt.  xxv. 
31-46). 

The  assumption  that  humanity  can  be  sep- 
arated from  God  in  the  exercise  of  religion 
implies  a  misconception  of  the  divine  character. 
Men  have  inflicted  on  themselves  an  endless 
amount  of  suffering,  which  did  not  render  the 
slightest  service  to  humanity,  imagining  that 
they  were  offering  acceptable  sacrifice  to  God. 
They  have  supposed  that  sacrifice  for  its  own 
sake  was  pleasing  to  him;  as  if  a  father  could 

18  For  the  development  of  these  points,  see  the  author's 
'The  Times  and  Young  Men,"  pp.  167-183. 
182 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

enjoy  seeing  a  son  torture  himself!  This  is 
penance,  which  is  heathenish,  not  Christian. 
Nothing  surely  is  more  pleasing  to  God  than 
our  self-denial  and  suffering  for  the  sake  of 
others.  What  delights  him,  however,  is  not 
the  suffering,  but  the  love  which  prompts  it. 
To  suppose  that  he  can  enjoy  sacrifice  for  which 
there  is  no  occasion,  and  which  renders  no 
service,  is  to  suppose  that  he  delights  in  suffer- 
ing for  its  own  sake,  which  is  a  hideous, 
heathen  conception.  Suffering  can  never  be  an 
end  in  the  universe  of  a  benevolent  God,  be- 
cause suffering  is  not  good  in  itself.  Sacrifice 
must  serve;  if  it  does  not,  it  is  simply  wasted 
suffering. 

Because  of  the  neglect  of  the  social  teach- 
ings of  Jesus,  it  has  become  easy  for  men  to 
think  they  have  consecrated  themselves  to  God, 
so  long  as  they  are  not  called  on  to  test  the 
reality  of  the  sacrifice  by  devoting  themselves 
to  the  service  of  humanity;  easy  for  them  to 
imagine  they  have  given  their  substance  to 
183 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

God,  so  long  as  they  are  not  expected  to  admin- 
ister it  (the  whole  of  it)  for  the  good  of  their 
fellow  men.  I  used  to  know  a  man  who  was 
loud  in  his  professions  of  religion,  but  when 
asked  to  give  something  toward  the  support  of 
the  minister  replied:  "Oh,  no!  I  have  given 
all  that  I  possess  to  the  Lord,  and  I  have  no 
right  to  give  it  to  any  one  else."  It  is  easy 
for  men  to  persuade  themselves  that  they  love 
God,  so  long  as  it  is  a  matter  of  mere  sentiment, 
and  they  are  not  expected  by  themselves  or  by 
their  church  to  manifest  their  love  to  God  by 
lives  of  service  and  of  daily  sacrifice  in  the 
endeavor  to  make  the  world  better.  Thus  self- 
deception  has  become  easy  and  common,  and 
has  opened  the  church  door  to  worldliness. 

Any  one  who  says  that  he  trusts  Jesus  for 
his  eternal  salvation,  and  who  "lives  a  moral 
life,"  would  be  admitted  to  almost  any  church, 
without  having  given  the  slightest  evidence 
that  he  has  complied  with  the  conditions  of 
Christian  discipleship  which  Jesus  laid  down. 
184 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

He  may  be  perfectly  square  in  all  his  dealings ; 
he  may  be  an  affectionate  husband  and  father, 
and  a  "good  provider" ;  he  may  be  open-handed 
to  the  poor,  an  obliging  neighbor,  and  a  re- 
spected citizen,  and  yet  afford  no  evidence  that 
his  aims  and  activities  do  not  end  in  himself. 

He  may  never  have  died  to  the  world;  in- 
deed, he  may  be  very  much  alive  to  it.  He 
may  be  living  to  get  all  he  can  out  of  it.  The 
real  object  of  every  day's  endeavor  may  be 
self -gratification.  That  self-gratification  may 
take  any  one  of  a  thousand  forms,  and  may  be 
high  or  low ;  or  rather,  it  may  be  low  or  lower, 
for  no  delight,  no  endeavor  which  ends  in  self 
can  be  really  high.  It  may  be  intellectual,  or 
aesthetic,  or  even  animal.  It  may  be  the  satis- 
faction of  accumulating,  and  the  problem  of 
every  day  may  be  how  to  add  more  to  much. 
It  may  be  the  exultation  of  success,  the  delight 
of  beating  the  other  fellow,  or  it  may  be  the 
love  of  power,  which  inspires  his  activities. 
It  may  be  the  pleasure  of  a  luxurious  life ;  and 
185 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

he  may  build  his  palace  with  "costly  delibera- 
tion," while  all  around  him  are  scrimped  and 
haggard  lives,  for  which  the  Master  became 
poor  and  died.  And  this  man  may  ask  from 
the  church,  and  receive  for  the  asking,  a  letter 
stating  that  he  is  a  member  "in  good  and 
regular  standing." 

Let  no  one  imagine  that  I  have  the  slightest 
sympathy  with  the  hostile  critics  of  the  church. 
Any  criticism  I  may  offer  is  that  of  love  and 
of  a  great  longing  that  she  may  gain  her 
Master's  conception  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  that  she  may  accept  in  full  his  social 
teachings. 

No  one  would  maintain  that  the  creation  of 
an  ideal  world  is  the  conscious  aim  of  the 
average  church  to-day,  or  that  the  average 
pulpit  inculcates  the  social  laws  of  Jesus. 

In  reply  to  a  criticism  that  Christianity  was 

a  failure,  a  writer  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly, 

some  years  ago,   retorted  that  it  was  not  a 

failure,  for  it  had  never  been  tried.     Can  it 

186 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  NOT  ACCEPTED 

be  fairly  said  that  a  physician's  treatment  has 
been  tried  when  one-half  of  it  has  been  neg- 
lected? Only  one-half  of  Christ's  gospel  has 
been  preached,  and  Christianity  has  been  only 
one-half  accepted,  only  one-half  applied.  The 
salvation  of  the  individual  and  the  salvation  of 
society  are  the  two  great  hemispheres  of  Chris- 
tian truth,  both  of  which  are  alike  necessary 
to  produce  the  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness. 


VIII 

THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

APPLIED  WILL  BRING  SOCIAL 

HEALING 

"The  number  of  relief  and  charity  panaceas 
for  poverty,"  says  an  English  agitator,  "are  of 
no  more  value  than  a  poultice  to  a  wooden  leg. 
What  we  want  is  economic  revolution,  and  not 
pious  and  heroic  resolutions."19  New  economic 
conditions  are  wanted,  no  doubt,  but  it  is  a 
new  social  spirit  which  is  supremely  needed. 
No  mere  reorganization  of  society  is  remedial. 
A  change  of  form  is  not  a  change  of  essence. 

"  Ben  Tillett,  in  London  Times,  Jan.  i,  1895.  Quoted 
by  Professor  Peabody  in  "Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social 
Question." 

188 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

Precisely  here  is  the  error  of  many  reformers. 
They  work  from  the  outside  in;  they  try  to 
create  life  by  organization. 

"Ah!  your  Fouriers  failed 
Because  not  poets  enough  to  understand 
That  life  develops  from  within."  * 

Jesus  was  not  the  Great  Reformer,  but  the 
Great  Regenerator;  or  rather,  he  was  the  for- 
mer because  he  was  the  latter.  He,  indeed, 
aimed  at  a  new  social  order,  but  it  was  to  come 
from  a  new  social  life,  emanating  from  him- 
self. "I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life" 
(Jno.  x.  10).  "Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live 
also"  (Jno.  xiv.  19). 

A  sense  of  disappointment  characterized  the 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  especially 
in  Europe,  that  the  high  hopes  which  had  at- 
tended the  advent  of  free  speech,  a  free  press, 
popular  education,  and  manhood  suffrage,  were 
realized  so  partially.  Such  measures  are  vastly 
important,  but  they  will  always  be  disappoint- 

"  "Aurora  Leigh,"  Book  II. 
189 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

ing,  so  long  as  men  try  to  substitute  newness 
of  condition  for  newness  of  life.  The  emanci- 
pation of  Russian  serfs  and  of  American  slaves 
has  been  disappointing.  Each  was  a  great  act 
of  justice,  which  will  forever  shed  luster  on  the 
two  great  names  associated  with  them,  but  there 
was  a  popular  expectation  of  results  from  a 
new  environment  which  could  come  only  from 
a  new  life  and  a  new  spirit. 

There  are  two  essentials  of  healthy  growth, 
first,  actual  life,  and,  second,  favorable  or  pre- 
pared conditions.  To  neglect  either  is  fatal 
folly.  Conditions  cannot  create  life;  and  life 
cannot  grow  or  exist  regardless  of  conditions. 

It  is  life  that  organizes  and  therefore  deter- 
mines form,  but,  as  we  have  already  seen,  dead 
matter  must  be  prepared  for  assimilation  and 
transformation.  Animal  life  cannot  assimilate 
inorganic  matter;  it  must  be  prepared  by  the 
processes  of  vegetable  life.  Again,  vegetable 
life  cannot  assimilate  inorganic  matter  of  the 
wrong  sort  or  in  the  wrong  form.  The  roots 
190 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

of  the  rose-tree  cannot  transform  rock  into 
stem  and  leaf  and  petal  until  decomposition 
liberates  its  elements  for  new  combinations. 

Never  before  in  the  history  of  the  world  have 
conditions  been  so  well  prepared  for  the  rapid 
and  healthy  growth  of  a  new  social  life.  Con- 
servatism is  like  the  rigidity  which  makes  the 
solid  rock  impossible  of  assimilation  to  the  rose 
roots.  Only  so  fast  as  an  old  system  is  disin- 
tegrated can  its  elements  be  appropriated  and 
vitalized  by  a  new  germinal  principle.  Now 
the  new  scientific  method  has  been  accomplish- 
ing this  work  of  disintegration.  The  destruc- 
tion of  old  theories  and  of  fossilized  beliefs  has 
not  only  cleared  the  way,  but  has  supplied  a 
vast  amount  of  prepared  material,  which, 
brought  into  contact  with  vital  power,  will  be 
easily  appropriated  and  assimilated,  and  thus 
grow  into  a  new  social  organization. 

The  ideal  society  cannot  be  designed  and  con- 
structed, because  it  is  a  living  thing.  We  can 
get  it  only  so  far  and  so  fast  as  we  conform  to 
191 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

the  laws  of  life.  As  Herbert  Spencer  says: 
"All  phenomena  displayed  by  a  nation  are  phe- 
nomena of  life,  and  are  dependent  on  the  laws 
of  life."  In  order  to  secure  the  right  kind  of 
life,  the  first  essential  is  to  secure  the  right  ger- 
minal principle.  This  done,  growth  may  be 
quickened  by  supplying  the  conditions  de- 
manded by  the  laws  of  life. 

In  every  living  seed  is  a  mysterious  and 
potent  something  which  determines  its  form  of 
growth.  Wrapped  up  in  the  acorn  there  is, 
so  to  speak,  a  vision  of  the  oak,  toward  the 
realization  of  which  is  all  its  progress.  This 
is  its  germinal  principle,  which  differentiates  it 
from  every  other  kind  of  life  and  makes  it 
absolutely  certain  that  it  will  not  grow  into  a 
pine  tree  or  an  elm.  If  the  acorn  were  self- 
conscious,  this  "vision"  of  the  future  oak  would 
be  its  ideal.  Now  society,  as  it  gains  self- 
consciousness,  gains  a  social  ideal,  which,  like 
a  germinal  principle,  shapes  its  growth  and 
determines    its    character.     The    man    whose 

102 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

ideal  is  the  gratification  of  his  appetites  cannot 
possibly  grow  into  a  scholar  or  a  saint,  unless 
there  is  implanted  in  him  a  new  and  very  dif- 
ferent principle  of  life;  and  this  is  as  true  of 
society  as  it  is  of  the  individual. 

The  new  social  life,  which  came  with  the 
industrial  revolution,  is  gaining  self-conscious- 
ness and  a  social  ideal.  This  ideal  is  largely 
materialistic.  The  solution  of  the  problem  of 
production  has  made  possible  an  abundance  for 
all.  As  the  starving  dream  of  feasting,  it  is 
not  strange  that  those  who  have  long  suffered 
physical  want  should  dream  of  a  coming  social 
system,  in  which  the  satisfaction  of  all  physical 
wants  will  be  the  supreme  good.  The  social 
ideal  of  the  multitude  is  little  more  than  a  para- 
dise of  creature  comfort.  It  needs  to  be  ele- 
vated and  spiritualized.  It  rightly  includes 
perfect  material  conditions  and  perfect  phys- 
ical health,  but  their  chief  importance  should 
be  seen  to  consist  in  the  fact  that  they  are 
necessary  conditions  to  perfect  intellectual  and 
i93 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

spiritual  health.  Perfect  life  can  come  only 
from  perfect  obedience  to  the  laws  of  life.  The 
highest  possible  social  ideal,  therefore,  is  that 
of  an  organization  in  which  there  is  perfect 
obedience  to  all  the  laws  of  life,  physical,  intel- 
lectual, spiritual,  social. 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  this  is  precisely  the 
social  ideal  of  Jesus,  which  will  be  realized 
when  God's  will  (of  which  all  the  laws  of  life, 
physical,  intellectual,  spiritual,  and  social,  are 
the  expression)  is  "done  in  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven." 

With  the  development  of  the  new  social  con- 
sciousness is  coming  the  new  social  conscience. 
The  two  are  closely  related,  and  each  implies 
the  other.  Not  until  we  come  to  self-conscious 
man,  in  the  rising  scale  of  being,  do  we  find 
a  conscience;  and  not  until  society  becomes 
self-conscious  is  a  social  conscience  possible, 
and  then  it  becomes  necessary. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  individual  awoke  to 
full  self-consciousness  at  the  time  of  the  Ger- 
194 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

man  Reformation.  Perception  of  the  truth 
that  every  soul  must  give  an  account  of  itself 
unto  God  carried  with  it  an  inevitable  conse- 
quence. If  I  have  duties  to  God  from  which 
no  man  can  absolve  me,  then  I  have  rights  of 
which  no  man  must  rob  me.  Imperative  duties 
involve  inalienable  rights.  Since  the  Reforma- 
tion, therefore,  the  great  struggles  have  been 
to  secure  and  guarantee  rights.  To  this  end 
revolutions  have  been  organized,  wars  have 
been  waged,  constitutions  adopted  and  laws 
enacted.  This  has  been  the  great  object  of 
struggle  and  the  rich  reward  of  achievement. 
The  growth  of  democracy,  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  the  elevation  of  woman  and  of  the 
laboring  man  are  the  natural  outcome  of  the 
new  apprehension  of  rights,  which  came  when 
the  individual  gained  full  self-consciousness. 

The  dawn  of  social  self-consciousness  means 
no  less  to  the  world,  and  marks  a  new  era  in 
the  progress  of  the  race.     The  close  and  multi- 
plied relations  into  which  steam  and  electricity 
195 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

have  brought  us  have  made  us  interdependent. 
We  are  discovering  that  our  interests  are  com- 
mon, that  our  life  is  one.  Relations  are  so 
intimate  that  unless  each  fits  to  his  place  and 
does  his  duty  there  is  friction ;  hence  a  growing 
sense  of  responsibility,  and  a  new  perception  of 
obligation.  For  four  centuries  the  watch- word 
of  reform  has  been  "Rights,"  but,  with  the  new 
social  consciousness  and  the  growth  of  the  new 
social  conscience,  the  watch-word  of  reform  has 
become  "Duties."  Social  consciousness  is  as 
yet  blurred,  and  the  social  conscience  is  as  yet 
feeble;  but  as  the  one  gains  distinctness  the 
other  will  gain  strength.  This  growing  social 
conscience  must  be  instructed. 

The  great  social  questions,  which  to-day  are 
working  like  yeast,  are  ethical.  They  can  be 
settled  only  by  an  enlightened  conscience;  and 
the  social  laws  of  Jesus  are  precisely  what  is 
needed  for  its  enlightenment  and  guidance.21 

*  For  a  discussion  of  the  social  teachings  of  Jesus  as 
the  solution  of  social  problems,  see  my  "The  Times  and 
196 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

Property  is  the  kernel  of  the  social  question. 
The  economic  problem  of  the  future  is  not  the 
production  of  property,  but  its  distribution. 
Until  the  advent  of  steam,  the  first  great  ques- 
tion was  how  to  produce  the  good  things  of 
life;  how  to  divide  them,  though  important, 
was  secondary.  But  the  application  of  nature's 
forces  to  manufacture  solved  the  problem  of 
production;  and  the  average  workman  now 
with  the  aid  of  machinery  produces  about  fifty 
times  as  much  as  the  average  workman  of  a 
few  generations  ago.  We  can  now  produce 
more  of  any  great  staple  than  the  world  can 
consume.  Men  still  starve  and  live  in  rags, 
but  only  because  they  have  nothing  to  exchange 
for  food  and  clothing.  That  is,  the  question 
of  distribution  has  become  the  great  subject  of 
contention. 


Young  Men,"  where  a  chapter  is  devoted  to  showing 
that  the  three  fundamental  laws  of  the  kingdom  are 
identical  with  the  three  great  social  laws,  on  obedience  to 
which  depends  the  health  of  society. 

197 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

Here  are  some  of  the  burning  social  ques- 
tions of  the  day.  The  list  was  taken  quite  at 
random ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  property — the 
distribution  of  property — is  at  the  bottom  of 
every  one  of  them22 :  "Has  any  one  a  right  to 
property?  or  is  it  true,  as  the  French  philoso- 
pher, Proudhon,  said,  that  'property  is  theft'? 
If  a  man  has  a  right  to  property,  is  there  any 
limit  to  the  amount  he  has  a  right  to  hold? 
Has  he  any  right  to  a  superfluity  while  others, 
equally  deserving,  are  in  want?  If  a  man  has 
a  right  to  property,  has  he  a  right  to  spend  it 
as  he  pleases?  Has  any  one  a  right  to  prop- 
erty in  land  ?  or  is  the  land  the  natural  heritage 
of  all  the  people?  Has  every  man  a  right  to 
live?  If  so,  has  he  a  right  to  the  means  of 
life?  And  has  he  a  right  to  do  with  his  life 
what  he  pleases?  Has  he  a  right  to  self-devel- 
opment— to  make  the  most  of  himself?  If  so, 
how  is  that  right  to  be  secured  ?  Is  it  the  duty 
of  every  able-bodied  person  to  work?     If  so, 

""The  Times  and  Young  Men,"  pp.  99,  100. 
108 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

how  is  that  obligation  to  be  enforced?  Has 
every  one  a  right  to  work?  If  so,  whose  duty 
is  it  to  furnish  employment?  Is  labor  the 
source  of  all  wealth?  What  are  the  rights  of 
labor?  and  what  are  the  rights  of  capital? 
What  are  the  relations  of  the  two?  If  they 
have  rights,  have  they  not  also  duties  ?  What 
are  the  duties  of  each  ?  What  are  the  relations 
of  organized  and  unorganized  labor  ?  Has  un- 
organized labor  no  rights?  How  is  the  cen- 
tralization of  industrial  power  to  be  harmonized 
with  the  distribution  of  political  power  ?  That 
is,  how  is  organized  industry  to  be  reconciled 
with  democracy  ?" 

Not  one  of  these  questions  can  be  settled, 
or  even  discussed,  without  involving  the  prob- 
lem of  distribution ;  and  that  is  more  a  question 
of  morals  than  of  economics,  and  will  never 
be  settled  until  men  emphasize  duties  rather 
than  rights.  It  is,  therefore,  primarily  a  ques- 
tion of  conscience,  which  permits  us  to  forego 
rights,  but  holds  us  to  duties.     And  be  it  ob- 

IQ9 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

served,  the  social  laws  of  Jesus  deal  with  duties, 
not  with  rights. 

Duties  give;  rights  get.  When  you  empha- 
size rights,  you  are  seeking  your  own;  when 
you  emphasize  duties,  you  are  seeking  the  wel- 
fare of  another.  It  is  the  sense  of  duty  which 
enables  you  to  put  yourself  in  the  other  fellow's 
place;  and  that  is  often  the  first  step  toward 
the  settlement  of  differences.  When  men  quar- 
rel it  is  over  their  "rights."  Legislatures  and 
courts  deal  primarily  with  rights  rather  than 
duties.  They  recognize  and  enforce  duties, 
but  only  when  the  obligations  of  one  man  are 
involved  in  the  rights  of  another.  Our  legis- 
lative system,  our  judicial  system,  our  economic 
system,  our  social  system,  are  all  based  on 
rights,  because  they  are  all  the  outgrowth  of 
the  old  individualistic  spirit. 

The  new  civilization,  in  which  life  is  becom- 
ing one,  and  interests  common,  and  well-being 
more  and  more  widely  conditioned,  must  be, 
and  will  be,  animated  by  the  social  spirit,  which 
emphasizes  duties  rather  than  rights. 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

Legislatures  and  courts,  therefore,  can  fur- 
nish no  radical  solution  of  the  problem  of  dis- 
tribution. Laws  may  restrain  greed  in  some 
measure.  They  may  mitigate  evils  by  making 
it  harder  to  do  wrong  and  easier  to  do  right ; 
but  so  long  as  men  are  grasping,  and  some  are 
stronger  than  others,  there  will  be  strife  over 
the  problem  of  distribution. 

The  root  evil  is  selfishness,  and  its  removal, 
therefore,  is  the  only  radical  solution  of  this 
and  other  social  problems. 

Now  Jesus'  social  legislation — the  law  of 
service,  the  law  of  sacrifice,  and  the  law  of  love 
— was  aimed  at  the  uprooting  of  human  selfish- 
ness. These  laws  are  fundamentally  one — the 
law  of  love;  and  disinterested  love  is  the  per- 
fect opposite,  the  perfect  remedy,  and  the  only 
remedy,  of  selfishness. 

Permit  a  few  illustrations.  It  is  not  really 
the  unequal  distribution  of  property,  but  the 
selfish  use  of  it,  which  breeds  envy  and  hatred. 
Let  a  man  much   richer  than   his  neighbors 

201 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

adopt  their  scale  of  living,  and  use  his  revenues 
for  the  public  good,  and  his  wealth  would  ex- 
cite no  jealousy.  He  has  the  care  of  his  pos- 
sessions, but  the  public  has  the  good  of  them, 
because  he  has  really  accepted  Christian  stew- 
ardship. I  know  a  man  in  humble  circum- 
stances, who  on  seeing  pass  a  woman,  widely 
known  and  loved  for  her  benefactions,  re- 
marked: "I  am  a  poor  man,  but  I  don't 
begrudge  that  woman  one  cent.  I  wish  she 
had  twice  as  much  as  she  has." 

Suppose  capital  and  labor  were  both  brought 
under  the  Christian  law  of  service ;  there  could 
be  no  more  conflict  between  them  than  between 
brain  and  hand.  If  labor  unions  were  formed 
with  a  view  to  more  efficient  service,  and  cap- 
italistic combinations  were  made  for  the  benefit 
of  employees  and  of  the  general  public,  we 
should  hear  no  more  of  strikes  and  lockouts. 

A  deep  popular  discontent  is  one  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  our  times.  It  is  constantly  ask- 
ing for  a  larger  share  of  the  good  things  of  life. 
202 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

I  do  not  think  labor  receives  its  proper  share, 
but  a  much  larger  proportion  would  not  quiet 
discontent.  The  sad  affair  at  Homestead,  a 
few  years  ago,  began,  I  am  told,  with  the  strike 
of  256  men,  who  were  receiving  at  the  time 
average  wages  of  fifteen  dollars  a  day ;  but  the 
men  were  not  satisfied.  I  suspect  that  the 
average  millionaire,  who  is  living  to  get  instead 
of  to  give,  is  as  dissatisfied  as  the  average  wage- 
earner,  only  he  does  not  blame  the  social  sys- 
tem, and,  therefore,  does  not  agitate.  There 
are  legitimate  reasons  for  popular  discontent, 
but  its  fundamental  cause  is  the  lack  of  the 
spirit  of  service.  A  Connecticut  pastor  writes 
me :  "I  find  myself  constantly  saying,  'All  this 
discontent  among  the  laboring  classes,  and  all 
these  justifiable  causes,  exist  just  as  really 
among  all  who  are  dependent  upon  salaries — 
professors,  clerks,  bookkeepers,  agents,  and 
pre-eminently  among  clergymen.'  There  is  not 
one  minister  in  1000,  in  this  country,  who  can 
save  on  his  salary,  in  fifty  years,  $1000.  .  .  . 
203 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

Now,  why  should  not  all  ministers,  as  well  as 
factory  and  railroad  men,  be  discontented  and 
'strike'  ?  .  .  .  My  cook  is  better  paid  than  the 
educated  young  ladies  who  teach  in  our  high 
school.  My  hired  man  is  better  paid  for  the 
hours  he  works  than  I  am,  and  yet  I  have  more 
than  the  average  country  minister's  salary." 

The  cook,  though  better  paid,  is  doubtless 
less  contented  than  the  high  school  teachers. 
She  is  probably  working  simply  for  her  wages, 
and  receives  nothing  more,  while  the  teachers, 
if  worthy  of  their  work,  are  more  interested  in 
their  pupils  than  in  their  salaries;  and  having 
more  or  less  of  the  spirit  of  service,  they  know 
its  satisfaction.  The  salary  of  the  minister  is 
a  small  part  of  his  compensation.  If  worthy 
of  his  work,  he  is  in  the  ministry  to  serve;  and 
to  him  who  has  the  spirit  of  service,  service  is 
its  own  great  reward;  salary  is  incidental. 
When  the  spirit  of  service  becomes  general, 
popular  discontent  will  cease. 

Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  than  whom  no  one 
204 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

is  better  qualified  to  form  an  intelligent  judg- 
ment, wrote  last  August :  "After  many  years 
of  investigation  into  the  social,  moral  and  in- 
dustrial condition  of  the  people,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  in  the  adoption  of  the  philos- 
ophy of  the  religion  of  Christ  as  a  practical 
creed  for  the  conduct  of  business,  there  was  to 
be  found  the  surest  and  speediest  solution  of  the 
difficulties  which  excite  the  minds  of  men,  and 
which  lead  many  to  think  social,  industrial  and 
political  revolution  is  at  hand.  I  still  remain 
of  the  same  opinion." 

This  is  not  simply  a  matter  of  theory ;  not  a 
few  instances  may  be  given  of  the  practical 
application  of  Christian  principles  to  industry. 
The  famous  experiment  of  the  Parisian  house 
painter,  Leclaire,  was  based  on  the  teachings 
of  Jesus  and  inspired  by  his  spirit.  On  his 
death-bed  Leclaire  wrote:  "I  am  the  humbte 
disciple  of  him  who  has  told  us  to  do  to  others 
what  we  would  have  others  do  to  us,  and  to 
love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves;  it  is  in  this 
20s 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

sense  that  I  desire  to  remain  a  Christian  until 
my  last  breath." 

A  well-known  manufacturer  of  Columbus, 
Ohio,  writes: 

"We  have  always  endeavored  to  treat  our 
employees  as  men,  with  the  same  feelings, 
hopes  and  rights  as  ourselves,  and  to  consider 
that  we  are  all  of  us  one  great  family  with 
mutual  interests.  I  have  not  begun  to  do  as 
much  for  our  employees  as  they  have  done  for 
me,  but  have  endeavored  to  treat  always  as  I 
should  like  to  be  treated  if  our  positions  were 
reversed.  Our  relations  for  nearly  thirty  years 
have  been  always  friendly  and  satisfactory,  we 
have  never  had  any  strikes  or  troubles  of  any 
kind,  but  this  is  owing  as  much,  if  not  more,  to 
the  character  of  our  employees.  As  illustra- 
tive of  this  I  will  tell  you  of  an  incident  which 
occurred  during  the  panic  of  '93 : 

"A  month  or  so  after  the  panic  began,  and 
when  large  concerns  were  failing  in  every  direc- 
tion, there  filed  into  my  office  one  morning 
206 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

some  fifteen  or  twenty  men,  representing  the 
several  shops  in  our  plant.  Their  manner  and 
looks  were  serious,  and  while  I  had  no  more 
earnest  wish  than  that  I  should  never  have  any 
trouble  with  our  employees,  I  feared  that  it  had 
come  at  last.  Finally  one  of  them,  as  spokes- 
man, said  that  they  had  thought  very  long  over 
the  matter  that  had  brought  them  there  before 
they  had  decided  to  come,  and  that  they  hoped 
they  would  find  me  prepared  to  accede  to  their 
request;  that  they  had  noticed  that  large  con- 
cerns who  had  stood  the  stress  of  many  panics 
were  failing  every  day;  that  our  warehouses 
were  filling  with  goods  which  we  couldn't  sell, 
and  that  they  presumed  we,  like  others,  were 
unable  to  obtain  payment  for  goods  already 
sold  and  that  they  feared  that  we  might  be  in 
danger  as  well  as  other  concerns ;  that  some  of 
them  had  been  with  us  for  a  few  years,  some 
for  many  years,  and  some  the  length  of  a  gen- 
eration; that  they  had  always  received  fair 
wages  and  had  been  able  to  save  some  money, 
207 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

and  while  the  individual  savings  were  not  large, 
the  aggregate  was  a  considerable  sum,  and  that 
they  had  come  to  tell  me  the  whole  of  it  was  at 
my  disposal  for  the  use  of  the  company  if  it 
were  needed. 

"I  will  leave  you  to  imagine  what  my  feelings 
were,  for  I  have  never,  from  that  date  to  this, 
been  able  to  find  words  in  which  to  suitably 
express  them." 

The  president  of  a  large  coal  and  iron  com- 
pany in  the  South  writes  as  follows : 

"It  has  occurred  to  me  to  state  also  that  I 
have  an  idea  that  good  wages  will  not  always 
and  at  all  times  satisfy  men.  My  judgment  is 
that  love  is  the  only  thing  that  will  control 
them  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances; 
and  unless  a  man  can  love  his  operatives,  and 
have  them  love  him,  he  cannot  control  them 
under  all  the  trying  ordeals  through  which  both 
sides  will  have  to  go  during  the  life  of  a  busi- 
ness. In  my  judgment,  there  comes  a  time  in 
the  affairs  of  our  operatives  in  which  they  will 
208 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

not  be  satisfied  with  money  alone.  In  other 
words,  I  think  occasionally  a  crisis  arises  in 
their  affairs,  or  they  get  in  such  a  shape  or 
frame  of  mind  that  nothing  will  satisfy  them 
but  to  feel  that  they  are  loved  by  their  em- 
ployer. If  an  operator  can  really  love  those 
who  are  under  his  control,  and  not  look  on 
them  as  servants,  but  as  friends,  and  can  make 
them  feel  that  his  liberality  is  not  exercised  as  a 
gift  to  be  especially  grateful  for,  but  that  it  is 
his  pleasure  to  divide  the  earnings  with  them 
in  an  equitable  manner,  and  can  assure  them  of 
his  love  and  sympathy — then  and  in  that  event, 
he  can  control  them  when  a  serious  crisis 
comes.  But  I  do  not  think  any  operator  can 
ever  exercise  a  successful  headship  over  his 
employees,  unless  he  himself  first  acknowledges 
the  headship  of  God. 

"I  have  overcome  some  very  difficult  situa- 
tions in  the  past  at  our  different  mines,  and 
have  controlled  and  kept  at  work  large  bodies 
of  men  when  all  the  mines  around  us  were 
209 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

closed  down  by  bitter  strikes.  But,  as  before 
stated,  I  cannot  say  whether  I  will  be  able  to 
do  this  always  in  future  or  not;  but  I  do  say 
that  this  kind  of  a  course  is,  in  my  judgment, 
the  proper  one  to  pursue;  and  will  bring  the 
best  results  that  can  be  obtained  both  in  the 
matter  of  a  good  conscience  and  also  better 
returns  for  capital  invested." 

From  another  letter  by  the  same  man  I  quote 
the  following:  "Men  conquered  by  force  are 
only  half  conquered,  and  will  fight  again  and 
tear  up  things  when  they  get  another  oppor- 
tunity. But  men  once  conquered  by  love  and 
reason  will  remain  true.  They  are  fully  satis- 
fied with  their  surroundings  after  they  are  won 
in  this  manner,  but  it  must  be  a  genuine  con- 
version or  it  will  not  hold.  I  believe  that  if 
love  of  humanity  and  fair  dealing  are  back  of 
an  employer's  acts,  he  will  be  able  to  ride  suc- 
cessfully every  storm  that  comes." 

Instances  might  by  multiplied  of  business 
enterprises,  conducted  on  Christian  principles, 

210 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

which  are  free  from  the  ordinary  strifes  of  the 
industrial  world,  and  are  eminently  successful 
from  a  business  point  of  view,  but  the  above 
must  suffice. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  social  teachings 
of  Jesus  would  spiritualize  and  perfect  the  new 
social  ideal,  would  educate  the  new  social  con- 
science, and  afford  a  radical  remedy  for  social 
disorders. 


211 


IX 

THE  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

APPLIED  WILL  BRING  SPIRITUAL 

QUICKENING 

"To  be  enthusiastic  about  the  church  in  its 
present  condition,"  says  Professor  Bruce,  "is 
impossible."28 

The  church  has  become  a  very  respectable 
institution  which  must  be  "sustained."  Chris- 
tianity is  vital  and  is  giving  life  and  inspiration 
and  power  to  many  individual  lives  both  inside 
and  outside  of  the  church,  but  the  church  is  not 
leading  the  way  in  the  new  civilization.  It  is 
doing  much  to  conserve  the  heritage  of  the  past, 
but  not  much  to  mold  the  future.     It  affords  a 

""The  Kingdom  of  God,"  p.  272. 
212 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

certain  amount  of  restraint,  but  not  much  in- 
spiration. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  meager 
growth  of  the  church,  and  the  general  aliena- 
tion of  working  men,  which  means  the  multi- 
tude. These  facts  have  been  conspicuous  for 
years,  and  go  without  saying.  It  is  unneces- 
sary to  dwell  upon  the  prevailing  worldliness, 
and  the  profound  need  of  a  mighty  spiritual 
quickening.  It  is  those  who  love  the  church 
most  devotedly  who  feel  these  facts  most 
deeply. 

The  object  of  the  preceding  discussion  has 
been  to  show  that  the  great  awakening  so  sorely 
needed  to  vitalize  the  church,  to  lift  civilization 
to  a  higher  plane,  and  to  hasten  the  coming 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  world,  may  be 
confidently  expected  when  it  is  intelligently 
sought,  when  necessary  conditions  are  com- 
plied with,  when  the  way  of  the  Lord  is  pre- 
pared. 

We  have  seen  that  the  supreme  need  of  the 
213 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

world  is  God — a  real  God,  a  present  and  a 
potent  God;  and  that  he  becomes  real  to  men 
when  they  apprehend  him  in  relation  to  their 
own  times  (Chap.  I). 

A  review  of  the  great  historical  awakenings 
has  shown  us  that  men  thus  apprehend  God, 
when  neglected  Scriptural  truth,  which  is  pre- 
cisely adapted  to  the  peculiar  needs  of  the  times, 
is  faithfully  preached.  It  may  be  safely  as- 
sumed that  peculiar  need  of  spiritual  quicken- 
ing has  come  from  the  neglect  of  some  vital 
truth.  That  truth  of  course  proves  to  be  pre- 
cisely adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  times,  and 
having  been  neglected,  it  comes  home  to  men, 
when  faithfully  preached,  with  all  the  power 
of  new  truth  (Chap.  II). 

We  have  seen  that  the  social  teachings  of 
Jesus  have  been,  until  recently,  almost  wholly 
neglected,  or  very  generally  misapprehended. 
The  kingdom  of  God,  which  was  the  great 
burden  of  his  preaching,  has  been  commonly 
misunderstood ;  and  the  social  character  of  the 
214 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

fundamental  laws  of  that  kingdom  has  been 
forgotten  (Chaps.  III-VII). 

We  have  made  a  study  of  these  social  teach- 
ings of  Jesus,  and  have  found  that  the  kingdom 
of  God  was  his  social  ideal,  the  will  of  God, 
done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven ;  that  is,  an  ideal 
world. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  true  conception 
of  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  a  social  ideal,  fits 
the  times  as  a  glove  fits  the  hand.  There  is  a 
prevailing  worldliness  (a  practical  denial  of  the 
reality  of  God),  enhanced  by  the  intense  ma- 
terialism of  the  day ;  and  we  have  seen  that  the 
material,  when  rightly  understood  as  a  part  of 
the  kingdom  of  God,  ceases  to  be  an  obstacle 
between  us  and  spiritual  things,  and  becomes 
a  medium  through  which  we  may  reach  and 
influence  the  spiritual  life.  The  bird's  wings 
add  weight  to  her  body,  but  when  she  learns 
how  to  use  them,  they  enable  her  to  rise 
(Chap.  V,  i). 

Again,  the  scientific  habit  of  mind  which  has 
215 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

swept  away  many  long  cherished  beliefs,  and 
produced  an  atmosphere  of  doubt,  has  led  men 
back  to  the  Christianity  of  Christ,  and  at  the 
same  time  cleared  the  way  for  his  doctrine  of 
the  kingdom. 

Again,  the  scientific  conception  of  natural 
law,  by  eliminating  a  personal  will,  has  seemed 
to  many  to  banish  God  from  the  physical  uni- 
verse, thus  intensifying  the  prevailing  world- 
liness ;  and  we  have  seen  that  a  true  conception 
of  the  kingdom,  as  the  synthesis  of  the  physical 
and  the  spiritual,  makes  God  immanent  in  na- 
ture, the  laws  of  which  are  only  the  expression 
of  his  will,  and  affords  a  reasonable  basis  for 
faith  in  providence  and  in  prayer  (Chap  V,  2). 

Another  reason  why  God  has  seemed  unreal 
or  far  from  the  real  world  is  because  men  have 
run  an  imaginary  line  through  life' — a  sort  of 
equator — dividing  it  into  hemispheres  with  op- 
posite poles.  On  one  side  of  this  line  is  the 
"secular,"  which  is  at  least  Godless,  if  not  un- 
godly, and  like  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  that 
216 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

would  seem  to  be  the  side  of  this  spiritual 
equator  where  most  of  the  world's  population 
live.  We  have  seen  that  the  true  doctrine  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  wipes  out  this  line,  which 
is  as  mischievous  as  it  is  imaginary,  and  gives 
to  God  his  own,  bringing  him  back  into  busi- 
ness and  into  all  the  activities  of  daily  life 

(Chap,  v,  3y. 

Again,  we  have  seen  that  the  true  doctrine 
of  the  kingdom  makes  obvious  the  true  mission 
of  the  church  (Chap.  V,  4).  When  the 
church  accepts  that  doctrine,  she  will  move  out 
upon  the  highway  of  progress  to  the  fulfillment 
of  her  mission.  Failing  to  recognize  the  phys- 
ical element  in  the  kingdom,  she  has  failed  in 
her  duty  to  the  physical  needs  of  humanity. 

Jesus  does  not  say  that  the  first  and  second 
travelers  came  and  looked  on  the  wounded 
wayfarer  and  passed  on,  while  the  third  had 
mercy  on  him.  It  is  significant  that  the  men 
who  passed  by  on  the  other  side  were  priest 
and  Levite — officials  and  representatives  of  the 
217 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

orthodox  church.  It  is  significant  that  the 
man  who  had  mercy  on  the  sufferer  was  a 
Samaritan,  outside  the  pale  of  the  true  church 
and  despised  by  its  members;  and  yet  he  mani- 
fested that  love  which  showed  that  he  deemed 
himself  neighbor  to  suffering  humanity,  wher- 
ever found. 

Is  not  the  same  old  story  being  retold  to-day  ? 
So  far  as  the  bodily  needs  of  humanity  are 
concerned  (and  they  were  bodily  needs  to  which 
the  Good  Samaritan  ministered),  the  orthodox 
churches  generally  are  passing  by  on  the  other 
side.  It  is  the  insurance  societies,  the  secret 
fraternities,  the  town  authorities,  the  organized 
charities — Samaritans  every  one,  outside  the 
pale  of  the  church — that  are  ministering  to 
physical  want. 

Jesus  recognized  physical  Suffering  and  phys- 
ical needs,  and  ministered  to  them;  and  so 
doing,  gave  to  men  a  proof  of  his  love  which 
the  most  ignorant  and  degraded  could  under- 
stand. Through  the  lower  nature  he  reached 
218 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

the  higher.  By  going  down  to  the  physical 
plane,  where  the  multitude  lived,  he  was  en- 
abled to  lay  hold  of  men  and  lead  them  up  to 
the  spiritual  plane  where  he  lived.  The  phys- 
ical suffering  of  the  world  affords  to  the  church 
her  great  opportunity  to  minister  to  spiritual 
needs,  and  she  hands  this  opportunity  over  to 
organizations  which  make  no  use  of  it. 

The  institutional  churches,  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations,  and  the  Salvation 
Army,  all  recognize  the  physical  man,  and  it 
is  significant  that  they  all  attract  precisely  those 
classes  which  the  churches  generally  so  con- 
spicuously fail  to  reach.  "The  three  classes 
of  religious  organizations  referred  to  above 
differ  from  each  other  in  many  particulars,  but 
resemble  one  another  in  this,  viz.,  they  all  alike 
recognize  the  whole  man,  body  as  well  as  soul, 
and  adapt  their  methods  accordingly.  Pre- 
cisely at  this  point  they  differ  radically  from 
the  churches  of  the  ordinary  type.  As  they 
succeed  where  these  churches  fail,  is  it  not 
219 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

reasonable  to  attribute  their  common  success 
to  the  methods  which  they  have  in  common, 
and  which  differentiate  their  activities  from 
those  of  the  old-line  churches?"24 

The  Miami  Association  of  Ohio  embraces 
the  twenty-three  Baptist  churches  of  Cincin- 
nati and  vicinity.  Two  of  them  are  "institu- 
tional" ;  and  notwithstanding  all  the  disadvan- 
tages of  down-town  conditions,  which  have 
either  killed  or  driven  away  so  many  churches 
which  adhered  to  the  old  methods,  out  of  325 
additions  on  confession  of  faith  to  the  twenty- 
three  churches  in  a  single  year,  209  were  re- 
ceived by  these  two  churches  which  have 
adopted  new  methods.  But  for  these  two 
churches,  the  membership  of  the  Association 
would  have  been  smaller  by  four  at  the  end  of 
the  year  than  it  was  at  the  beginning.25 

M  My  "Religious  Movements  for  Social  Betterment," 
PP.  33,  34. 

"For  further  particulars  concerning  these  churches, 
and  for  other  illustrations,   see  my  "Religious  Move- 
ments for  Social  Betterment." 
220 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

Thorold  Rogers,  commenting  on  the  work 
of  the  Primitive  Methodists  and  the  Lollard 
Bible-men,  says:  "I  believe  it  is  true,  that  all 
successful  religious  movements  have  aimed  at 
heightening  the  morality  and  improving  the 
material  condition  of  those  whom  they  have 
striven  to  influence."26 

After  the  French  Revolution  "an  infidel 
propaganda  with  a  social  doctrine  had  well- 
nigh  shaken  modern  society  back  into  a  bar- 
baric chaos."  In  Germany,  the  alienation  of 
the  people  from  the  church,  their  poverty,  their 
bitterness  against  the  more  favored  classes,  and 
their  drunkenness  and  vice  "made  society  a 
festering  mass  of  corruption."  The  establish- 
ment of  the  "Inner  Mission"  (in  1848),  which 
"covered  the  land  with  ameliorative  agencies 
and  institutions — city  unions,  orphanages,  asy- 
lums, hospitals,  deaconess  institutions,  etc., 
touching  the  life  of  the  people  at  all  points,  and 

""Work  and  Wages,"  p.  516.  Quoted  in  Bascom's 
"Sociology,"  p.  178. 

221 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

healing  the  wounds  of  society,"  was  "the  sal- 
vation of  Germany  and  also  of  the  German 
churches."27 

Let  us  suppose  a  church  somewhere,  whose 
members  have  such  an  enthusiasm  for  human- 
ity that  when  they  lie  awake  nights  they  are 
planning,  not  how  to  make  money,  but  how  to 
make  men.  Their  supreme  desire  is  to  help 
the  world  in  general  and  their  own  community 
in  particular.  They  are  striving  daily  to  re- 
move every  moral  and  physical  evil ;  trying  to 
give  every  child  who  comes  into  the  world  the 
best  possible  chance ;  longing  and  working  and 
praying  and  spending  themselves  and  their  sub- 
stance to  save  men  from  sin  and  ignorance 
and  suffering.  Let  us  suppose  the  whole 
church  is  co-operating  to  this  end.  What  a 
transformation  such  a  church  would  work  in 
any  community!  How  it  would  "reach  the 
masses" !      How    it    would    grow !      How   it 

"  See  Dr.  John  B.  Paton's  "Inner  Mission."     Pub.  by 
James  Clarke  &  Sons,  13  Fleet  St.,  London. 
222 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

would  be  talked  about  and  written  up!  Men 
would  make  pilgrimages  to  study  its  workings 
and  its  success.  Yet  such  a  church  ought  not 
to  be  in  the  least  degree  peculiar.  This  is 
simply  the  picture  of  a  church  whose  member- 
ship is  imbued  with  the  social  ideal  of  Jesus, 
and  has  taken  seriously  his  social  laws  of  ser- 
vice, sacrifice  and  love;  and  this  picture  ought 
to  be  the  likeness  of  every  Christian  church  in 
every  community.  If  it  were,  how  many  hours 
would  it  be  before  the  kingdom  would  come 
with  blessed  fullness? 

There  is  an  enormous  power  in  the  teachings 
of  Jesus  which  has  never  been  applied.  It  is 
like  water  above  the  dam,  never  turned  to  the 
wheel,  like  coal  in  the  mine,  never  raised  and 
fired. 

If  the  pulpit  is  to  make  this  unused  power 
felt,  it  must  first  be  experienced.  No  one 
preaches  the  truth  with  power  until  he  has 
himself  had  a  deep  personal  experience  of  its 
power.  The  truths  which  were  so  mighty  on 
233 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

the  lips  of  Luther  and  Wesley  and  Finney  and 
Moody  had  first  been  mighty  in  their  own 
hearts.  Suppose  we  ministers  begin  with  our- 
selves, and  make  sure  that  we  are  ready  for 
disinterested  service;  make  it  quite  sure  that 
we  ourselves  have  been  to  Golgotha,  and  have 
there  been  crucified,  so  that  we  are  dead,  and 
the  life  in  us  is  the  life  of  Christ;  make  it  quite 
sure  that  our  own  hearts  are  aglow  with  the 
love  that  overflows  to  God  and  man.  Then 
we  may  expect  that  these  neglected  truths  of 
Jesus  will  be  preached  to  the  churches  with 
mighty  power  until  church  membership  really 
stands  for  Christian  service,  Christian  sacrifice 
and  Christian  love.  And  then  this  gospel  of 
God  will  indeed  be  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation to  the  multitudes  to  whom  he  is  now 
unreal. 

It  will  not  be  difficult  then  to  awake  the 

conscience.     A  worldly  man  likes  to  believe 

that  professed   Christians   are  essentially  the 

same  as  himself,  and  differ  only  in  that  they 

224 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  APPLIED 

profess  to  be  what  they  are  not.  As  long  as  he 
sees  no  essential  difference,  he  is  self-satisfied. 
If  conformity  to  the  world  could  have  won  it, 
it  should  have  been  won  long  since.  It  is 
when  worldly  men  become  convinced  that  there 
is  not  only  a  difference,  but  a  radical  difference, 
between  themselves  and  Christians  that  they 
desire  a  change  or  see  the  need  of  any.  When 
church  members  generally  live  a  life  of  service 
and  sacrifice  so  real  that  it  cannot  be  kept  secret, 
so  real  that  it  becomes  as  obvious  as  a  city  set 
on  a  hill,  then  selfish  men  will  be  convicted 
of  sin. 

When  God  becomes  real  to  men,  the  guilt  of 
sin  becomes  real ;  and,  as  we  have  seen,  God 
is  actualized  when  he  is  interpreted  in  the  terms 
of  present-day  truth  and  in  the  every-day  life 
of  living  epistles. 

Has  not  the  time  come  to  apply  to  existing 
conditions  the  social  teachings  of  Jesus,  which 
are  so  perfectly  applicable? 

Has  not  the  time  fully  come  to  take  Jesus 
225 


THE  NEXT  GREAT  AWAKENING 

Christ  seriously  ?  Let  us  either  do  the  things 
that  he  says,  or  cease  calling  him  Lord.  If  we 
wish  to  actualize  God,  let  us  obey  him. 

At  Reigate,  England,  in  the  spacious  grounds 
of  the  ancient  Priory,  there  is  a  tree  which  is 
known  as  the  "tree  of  decision."  Under  it 
stood  Lady  Henry  Somerset  in  the  darkest 
hour  of  her  life;  the  very  foundations  seemed 
to  be  giving  away.  She  was  struggling  with 
the  awful  question,  Is  there  a  God  ?  when  there 
came  to  her  the  message,  "Live  as  though  I 
were,  and  you  shall  know  that  I  am."  The  de- 
cision was  made,  and  God  became  real. 

When  the  world  lives  as  if  God  were,  the 
world  will  have  a  real  God.     His  tabernacle 

WILL  BE  WITH  MEN,  AND  HE  WILL  DWELL 
WITH  THEM,  AND  THEY  SHALL  BE  HIS  PEOPLE, 

and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  AND 
BE  THEIR  God. 


226 


INDEX 

Andrews,  Bishop,  39. 
Anti-Bargain  Brotherhood,  171. 
Ascetism,  182. 
Awakening,  New,  in  new  century,  35. 

Religious,  how  caused,  36,  213. 
Bascom,  President,  78,  221. 
Besant,  Walter,  49. 
Blackstone,  41,  157. 
Bruce,  Professor,  77,  212. 
Bunyan,  60. 
Bushnell,  150. 
Christ,  Point  of  view  of,  51,  52. 

Requirements  of,  impracticable,  152,  153,  155. 
The  head  of  the  church,  107. 
Christianity  never  tried,  186. 

Social  aspects  of,  63,  64. 
Surreptitious,  99,  100. 
Vital,  212. 
Church  a  means  not  an  end,  61,  107,  108. 
Ideal,  222,  223. 
Institutional,  219,  220. 
Members  and  worldly  men,  224,  225. 
Not  leading  the  way,  212. 
To  make  men,  not  money,  222. 
True  mission  of,  217. 
Cincinnati,  Miami  Association,  220. 
Civil  War,  166. 

Effect  on  religion  of,  46. 
Civilization,  inspiring  motive,  160. 
Commercialism,  161. 

In  the  church,  178. 
Commune  in  Paris,  148. 
Competition  in  business,  163-165,  170. 
Conditions,  Favorable,  190,  191. 
Cross,  Meaning  of,  127-129. 

The  Glory  of  Christ,  M5-M7. 
David's  world,  87. 

227 


INDEX 

Davidic  empire,  68. 

Demand  and  supply,  164. 

Discontent,  Popular,  202. 

Divine  sovereignty,  39,  40,  42,  43. 

Dogma,  Destruction  of,  21,  22. 

Drink  traffic,  162,  163. 

Drummond,  Professor,  172. 

Duties  the  watch-word  of  reform,  196,  200. 

Ecclesiasticism,  62,  63. 

Eighteenth  century  revival,  40. 

Elmira  Reformatory,  97. 

Emerson,  171. 

Equator,  Spiritual,  216,  217. 

Excommunication  the  penalty  of  discipleship,  156. 

Faith  and  knowledge,  21,  26,  27. 

Fellowship,  Inspiration  of,  116,  117. 

Finney,  Charles  G.,  42-44,  47,  49,  224. 

French  Revolution,  221. 

German  Reformation,  37,  47,  194,  195. 

Germany,  The  "Inner  Mission,"  221,  222. 

God,  True  glory  of,  144. 

Will  of,  83-89. 
Golden  Rule,  148. 
Growth,  Healthy,  190,  191. 
Laws  of,  30-33. 

Moral  and  spiritual,  periodic,  30,  32,  33. 
Habits,  Self-perpetuating,  31,  32. 
Hale,  Nathan.  143. 
Half  truths,  65,  92,  93.  187. 
Heaven,  Christian  and  Mohammedan,  71. 
"Hell's  Kitchen,"  95-97. 
Herbert,  George,  131. 
Herodotus,  87. 
Heroism  possible  to  all,  138. 
Homestead,  203. 
Hopkins,  President  Mark,  175. 
Humility  inculcated  by  Jesus,  158. 
Ideal  society,  191. 

New  social,  115.  192-194. 

World,  71,  83,  84,  186,  215. 

228 


INDEX 

Ignorance  an  excuse,  178. 
Immanent  God,  28,  102,  104. 
Individual,  Importance  of  the,  38. 

Rights  of  the,  195,  196,  200. 
Salvation,  61,  64,  65,  107,  187. 
Industry,  Christian  principles  in,  205-210. 
Inspiration  from  true  doctrine  of  the  kingdom,  III. 
of  a  glorious  ideal,  115. 
of  fellowship,  116,  117. 
Institutional  church,  219,  220. 
Interrelation  of  soul  and  body,  93,  94,  97,  98. 
Israel  as  a  theocracy,  67. 
Jesus  in  business  world  to-day,  168,  169. 
Judson,  144. 

Justification  by  faith,  37. 
King  the  head  of  the  church,  38,  39. 
Kingdom  of  God,  51,  72. 

As  understood  by  Israelites,  66,  67, 

70-72. 
Burden  of  Christ's  discourse,  51,  52, 

57,  214. 
Common  belief  in,  59. 
Confounded  with  heaven,  59,  107. 
Confounded    with    invisible    church, 

63-67. 
Confounded  with  visible  church,  61, 

62,  108,  no. 
Definitions,  77-79. 
Extent  and  content,  75-91. 
Fundamental   laws   of,    1 19-122,   154, 

160,  168. 
In  this  world,  72-74. 
Parables  relating  to,  55,  56. 
Physical  aspects  of,  76-82,  103. 
Primarily  spiritual,  76. 
Rediscovery  of,  58,  118. 
Synthesis  of  physical   and   spiritual, 

92.  93.  103.  216. 
Widens  horizon,  112-114. 
Wrong  conception  of,  106,  214. 

229 


INDEX 

Laud,  38. 

Laws  of  service,  sacrifice  and  love,  179-181. 

Leclaire,  205. 

Literalism  in  the  interpretation  of  Jesus,  157. 

Livingstone,  144. 

Lollard  Bible-men,  221. 

Love,  Disinterested,  140,  143,  201. 

Law  of,  139-151. 

of  God,  Doctrine  of,  46,  47. 

Sacrificial,  149,  151. 

To  control  in  business,  208-210. 
Luxury,  Economic  effect  of,  175-177. 

Inexcusable  to-day,  177. 
Luther,  37,  39,  47,  224. 
Magee,  Archbishop,  152,  153,  157. 
Manchester  school  of  political  economy,  172. 
Man's  free  agency,  45. 
Materialistic  civilization,  19,  20. 

Ideal,  193. 
Materialism,  24,  25,  215. 
Miami  Association  of  Ohio,  220. 
Moffat,  Robert  and  Mary,  115,  116. 
Moody,  46-48,  224. 
Moral  truth,  30-32. 

Motive  to  sacrifice  and  service,  142,  143. 
"Mud-puddles,"  64,  109. 
Mysticism,  182. 

Natural  law,  85,  86,  88,  100,  216. 
Neglect  of  physical,  94,  95,  217. 
Neglected  Scriptural  truth,  36,  40,  42,  44,  48,  94,  214. 
New  awakening  in  new  century,  35. 
Nineteenth  century,  disappointment  at  end  of,  189. 
Revival  in  first  half  of,  42. 
Last  half  of,  45. 
Sensitiveness  increased  in,  45,  46. 
Olshausen,  78. 

Organic  and  inorganic  matter,  140-142. 
Organization  not  life,  19. 
Paul,  143. 
Pauper,  A,  135. 

230 


INDEX 

Peabody,  Professor,  78,  160,  161,  188. 
Personal  experiences,  223,  224. 

Relations  with  God,  23,  24,  180. 
Physical    conditions    and    moral    progress,    95-98,    218, 

219,  221. 
Physical  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  76-82. 
Plagiarists,  18,  48. 
Prayer,  The  Lord's,  83,  84. 
Preachers,  Few  faithful,  178. 
Primitive  Methodists,  221. 
Principles  and  industry,  Christian,  205. 

Inculcated  by  Christ,  159,  160. 
Progress,  Intellectual,  33,  34. 

of  natural  science,  22. 
Property,  Distribution  of,  197-199,  201. 
Prophets  and  their  messages,  18,  68-71. 

of  science,  86. 

their  methods,  47,  48. 
Proudhon,  198. 
Puritan  revival,  38,  47. 
Reality  of  God,  214,  216,  217,  226. 
Religion,  An  expression  of  spiritual  life,  15-17. 

Common  conception  of,  83. 

Form  of  expression  changes,  16-18. 

Morals  and,  109. 

Vital,  15. 
Renaissance,  The  new  Christian,  59. 
Reward  of  service,  122-125,  204. 
Riches.  Jesus'  teaching  on,  179,  180. 
Rights  of  the  individual,  195,  196,  200. 
Ritualism,  181. 
Rogers,  Thorold,  221. 
Rossetti.  Christina,  138,  139. 
Royal  Rule  of  God,  90. 
Russian  serfs,  190. 
"Sacred"  and  "secular,"  105. 
Sacrifice,  Completeness  of,  130-132,  136-138. 

Law  of,  127-138. 

No  class  legislation,  137,  138. 

Unselfish,  141,  142. 

Wasted,  182,  183. 
231 


INDEX 

Salvation  Army,  219. 

Samaritan,  Parable  of  the  Good,  217,  218. 

Schaff,  Philip,  no. 

Science  and  the  Bible,  86,  87. 

Scientific  habit  of  mind,  20,  21,  26,  215,  216. 

Sectarianism,  62,  no. 

"Secular,"  216. 

So-called,  105,  106. 
Self-abnegation,  127-132. 
Self-denial,   175. 
Self-giving,  Glory  of,  147,  149. 
Selfishness  the  root  evil,  201. 
Sense  of  humanity,  49. 

Sensitiveness  increased  in  nineteenth  century,  45,  46. 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  123,  124,  152,  155. 
Service  and  sacrifice,  conscious  and  unconscious,  133-135. 
Commercial  and  Christian,  122-125. 
Disinterested,  141,  142. 
Inculcated  by  Jesus,  158. 
Lack  of  spirit  of,  203. 
Law  of,  120-127,  202- 

Fundamental,  121,  122. 
In  industry,  166-173. 
In  the  professions,   166. 
Reward  of,  122-125,  204. 
Slaves,  Emancipation  of,  190. 
Social  conscience,  49,  50,  194. 
Ideal  of  Jesus,  50,  194. 
Legislation  of  Jesus,  200,  201. 
Questions,  196-199. 
Settlements,  99. 
Spirit,  New,  188. 
System  a  misfit,  156,  169. 
Teachings  of  Jesus.  1 18-138,  153,  181,  188-226. 
Somerset.  Lady  Henry,  226. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  192. 
Spiritual  life,  140,  141. 

Necessary  to  win  world,  82. 
Stead,  F.  Herbert,  89-91. 

Stewardship,  Christian,  132,   173-175,  177,  202. 
Law  of,  126. 

232 


INDEX 

Strikes  and  lockouts,  202. 

Struggle  for  the  life  of  others,  139,  172. 

Sun,  Our  knowledge  of,  86. 

Supreme  need  of  the  world,  13-15,  213,  214. 

Taylor,  Isaac,  41. 

Teacher  and  scholar,  66. 

Tenement  house  problems,  95-97. 

Thoreau,  112. 

Tillett,  Ben,  188. 

Trust,  Motive  in  forming,  161,  162. 

Tyndall,  Professor,  102. 

Van  Oosterzee,  78. 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley,  97. 

Wesley.  41,  42,  47,  224. 

Will,  Surrender  of,  128-130. 

Through  law,  101,  102. 
Workingmen  alienated  from  church,  213. 
World.  The  known,  87,  88. 
Worldliness  in  the  church,  184-186. 
Wright,  Hon.  Carroll  D.,  204. 
Xavier,  144. 
Yellow  journals,  162. 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  2x9. 


*33 


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tfrnmSXESS!!""*™* 


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